Perth East Fire Department receives delivery of new rescue truck in Sebringville

A new rescue truck bought in 2021 and delivered to the Perth East Fire Department’s Sebringville station Friday morning will give the department more flexibility when it responds to emergency calls for service in both Perth East and Perth South.

Built by Rosenbauer America in South Dakota and purchased for a total of $238,500 plus HST from ResQTech Systems Inc. in Woodstock, the new rescue truck is much smaller than a traditional pumper truck and includes features that make it more suitable for calls that involve vehicle collisions , search and rescues and others where a full fire engine isn’t required.

“This station has never, at least since I’ve been up here, had a dedicated rescue truck,” Perth East fire Chief Bill Hunter said. “We’ve been using the engine for firefighting and rescues, so now we’re going to have the capability to use this truck for carbon-monoxide alarms, automatic alarms, motor-vehicle collisions. It adds a huge, new dimensions to their response capabilities here at the station. …Obviously, this truck has no water. It has fire extinguishers, but it’s not intended for fighting fires.

“A lot of the calls it goes to will be vehicle collisions and medicals assists. That’s where this truck will be front and center. It increases their flexibility and it also brings Sebringville in line with the Milverton and Shakespeare stations, which both have dedicated rescue trucks.”

The new truck is a 2022 Ford F550 cab and chassis outfitted for fire rescue with a 7.3-litre 335-horsepower V8 gas engine, 468 pounds per foot of torque, an aluminum body with pull-out trays, adjustable shelves, a tool board, an extendable rear storage tray, an air-bag storage module, and 1,000 pounds of capacity.

When it comes to safety, the truck has high-visibility scene lighting on the front, three traffic-adviser lights, LED emergency warning lights with blue lenses to improve visibility, a body-mounted command light stowed in a protective compartment, a 123- decibel siren, a 130-degree camera with 18 infrared illuminators and a seven-inch digital monitor, and a 4.4 cubic-foot refrigerator for on-scene firefighter rehabilitation.

“We like to have good equipment, and it puts the firefighters at less risk,” said Perth East Deputy Mayor Hugh McDermid. “It’s value added and it’s good value for the money. It makes it so they don’t have to take a bigger truck out when this one will do.”

“I think it’s a great addition to the fire hall here,” said Perth South Mayor Jim Aitcheson, noting Perth South has a service-sharing agreement with the Perth East Fire Department for fire and rescue services within a certain distance of the Sebringville station. “This truck’s going to make it far easier to respond to accidents, emergencies in the home, medical responses instead of having to take a big fire truck out. They’ll be gone in this in no time, and it’s equipped and it’s a great addition.”

In addition to making the responses from the Sebringville station more flexible, Hunter said the rescue truck requires less fuel than a fire engine and is more manoeuvrable, allowing firefighters to get into more confined spaces like farmyards.

While the purchase of the truck was included in the Perth East Fire Department’s 2021 capital budget, the fire department received a $20,000 donation from Patron Farms Ltd. in Perth South towards the cost.

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