Improvements to fire and emergency service equipment are an ongoing endeavour for Niverville’s Fire and EMS Services. They are hopeful that a new Rescue 1 unit will soon be added to the town’s fleet of emergency vehicles. The unit would attend the approximate 200 medical, fire, and rescue calls the department receives annually.
“Niverville is a growing community, and with our town growing our department must grow with it,” says Fire Chief Keith Bueckert. “We have run out of room to safely and properly store all the equipment needed for emergency calls on our Engine 1 and Engine 2. Rescue 1 will have more room for equipment and personnel needed for emergency calls. The ability for us to bring all equipment and personnel necessary reduces liabilities on responders [taking] their own vehicles [to the scene of an emergency call].”
The 2018 Dodge Ram 5500 is a demo model available at a dealership in Ontario, Dependable Emergency Vehicles. The asking price is $140,000 and includes a light tower which will assist in illuminating emergency scenes at night and provide a safer environment for rescue workers. This is a $25,000 accessory that the dealership has agreed to include at no extra cost.
“Rescue 1 has lots of compartment space and a separate cab area to safely transport members,” Bueckert adds. Because the rescue equipment is secured in compartments, the five passengers in the cab will not have to worry about equipment breaking into the cab in the event of an accident.
Recognizing that the department would eventually require equipment such as this, the department has been able to save $100,000 which they will apply to this purchase. These funds are an accumulation of unused operating monies received from the town’s fire and emergency budget over the last number of years.
The balance of $40,000 will be paid by the town. Council has already put $20,000 down as a deposit to hold the vehicle until Niverville fire personnel can go to Ontario to inspect it. Council included a disclaimer that, should the unit not meet expectations, the deposit can be rolled into the purchase of another vehicle for sale by this same dealership. Council is waiting to pass the 2019 budget before sending the remaining $20,000.
“We have been preparing for this purchase for a couple years and, with this demo model being found, we were able to return some savings to the town without compromising the needs for the truck and department,” Bueckert says.
He adds that the older model Suburban which the department has been using until now will still be put to use after the purchase of Rescue 1.
“The Suburban will be used as a Command and Chief’s response vehicle, which will also be able to be equipped with specific equipment to help at emergency scenes,” Bueckert says. “Also, it will be a member transporter to calls, too.”
