Fire District's New Rescue Vehicle Finally Arrives

One thing led to another as the delivery date for a new fire rescue vehicle stretched out for nearly two years.

During the process, manufacturer International moved its plant to Florida. There was also an emissions issue and the company making that system experienced a fire.

Because of the delays, International provided a backup truck and is extending the full vehicle warranty on the new unit from two to six years.

Everything finally came together and the truck was delivered a week ago.  Lettering has been completed and after license and title work and a health department inspection it goes into service.

This unit is bigger than the department has been using. In 2003 the Fire District decided to go with a smaller version. Those trucks have had many maintenance problems, generating large repair expenditures.

Chief Peter Henrikson said because the department's experience and that of other Rhode Island communities was better with larger vehicles they have gone back to a bigger unit.

It will operate out of the station on Main Street and one of the current rescue units will become a backup.

With a bigger interior all but the very tallest department members can stand erect next to a patient. Visibility is much better with a very bright interior lighting system. Each member of the department has an individual code to the med vault for records control.

An onboard computer system facilitates forwarding patient information to the hospital as well as containing geographical date on the community and surround area. The computer data base also has information on the chemicals or products in various commercial buildings.

As with most departments, some 70 percent of the Fire District’s calls are EMS runs for a full gamut of medical emergencies and auto accidents. 

Rhode Island has two license levels for emergency responders, EMT basic and EMT cardiac. Because EMS runs dominate the schedule, every fire fighter is trained to the EMT cardiac level. Several fire fighters have trained to the level of paramedic, which is not required by the department but makes them valuable as part of the training program.

With delivery of the new vehicle, Henrikson said the department is now in very good shape with an inventory of key vehicles ranging from new to only several years old. To maintain that readiness the district has a system in place that lets them project a maintenance and replacement schedule, plus accurate budget numbers.

As soon as all the paperwork and inspections are complete Henrikson hopes to put the unit on display for public inspection at sports events and community activities.