| Wellington recently added a new, fully equipped emergency response and rescue vehicle to the city fire department’s fleet. Wellington city purchased the fire truck along with a new Jaws of Life system with grant funding obtained from the Utah Community Impact Board. |
Wellington recently received the fruits from two years of labor – the city’s fire department put a new, top-of-the-line emergency rescue truck into service on Dec. 9.
Wellington’s city recorder, Kenny Powell, and fire chief, Scott Rowley, worked together to make the new truck become a reality.
Powell wrote the grant requesting the money from the Utah Community Impact Board (CIB), while Rowley researched possible truck lines, oversaw the bidding process and decided upon needed accessories.
The result is the FasTak, a $100,000 550 Ford by American LaFrance, complete with all the bells and whistles associated with a fire truck.
In addition to the truck, Wellington also received an additional $25,000 to purchase Jaws of Life equipment for the city’s emergency response vehicle.
Jaws of Life is a common phrase in relation to emergency response and traffic accidents. The purpose of the Jaws of Life is to extricate victims from automobiles or from beneath heavy objects such as concrete or steel structures.
However, few people realize that Jaws of Life is not a single item but an entire rescue system with several components.
There are three tools that compose Wellington’s Jaws of Life system.
One of the tools is a pair of cutters. Cutters look like a giant pair of scissors, although these shears have a lot more bite than the ones found at home in the sewing drawer.
Cutters similar to those on Wellington’s new vehicle can cut with a force of between 72,000 to 94,000 pounds and can be used to break down the posts of cars when removing an accident victim.
Another tool at Wellington’s disposal is a spreader. Spreaders can be placed between a door and a door jam to pop off a door that is trapping someone.
The fire crew also has a new ram, which can be used to lift off the dashes or roofs of cars.
According to Rowley, these tools are a necessary part of saving lives at an accident.
“If you’ve got people stuck in vehicles, there’s only one way to get them out,” commented the Wellington fire chief. “That’s what these tools are for.”
The Jaws of Life system is a replacement for Wellington City Fire Department’s old equipment.
The fire department’s old system, while still usable, needed to be updated with more dependable and more powerful equipment, pointed out the Wellington fire chief and city recorder.
As for the new Wellington rescue truck, the vehicle served as a replacement for the department’s old rescue unit, an 1984 Chevy Suburban.
According to Rowley, the Suburban was not able to support the needs of the department anymore and was too weighed down by all the emergency equipment.
Rowley said the Suburban has since been given retirement.