M/PIFCD receives new extrication equipment
Fire Chief Ben Mickuleit announced last week that the Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District’s new extrication equipment has arrived.
“This is a really exciting time for us,” Mickuleit said. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time now.”
The amount of money the district has available to deliver necessary services is based on property taxes and following the recession, money for new equipment was scarce.
“Before the recession hit, the taxes collected enabled us to buy much of the equipment we still have today,” Mickuleit said. “The National Fire Protection Association regulations state that extraction tools must be replaced every 10 years but some of our extraction tools date back to 1996.”
The department worked hard to raise the money needed for new extrication equipment.
“Before the millage increase this year, we held fish frys, received donations and sold T-shirts to raise the money for new equipment,” Mickuleit said. “We probably raised close to $20,000 but a single set costs $25,000 to $30,000 and we need three sets one set for each truck. A complete set includes a spreader, cutter and a ram.”
The M/PIFCD provides emergency response to fires, medical calls, hazardous material incidents, natural disasters, vehicle crashes and any other emergency scenario. Last year, the department ran 1,640 calls.
The new tools arrived two weeks ago and last week a representative from Holmatro arrived at Fire Station #1 for demonstration and training.
“We looked at a number of manufacturers and decided Holmatro was the best fit for us,” Mickuleit said. “These tools are the next generation of battery-operated rescue tools and they are faster than ever, have a lot more power and deliver much improved performance in less time.”
“The new tools are self contained,” Engineer Gerry Rossman said. “I can’t tell you how many times the old-style hydraulic cable got tied up. These offer rapid deployment with total freedom to go anywhere. Just press the start button and start working.”
“And the latest lithium batteries have a longer life and a lot more power,” Firefighter Bobby Barr said. “They even have an LED indicator that tells us how much battery capacity is left. Plus the battery contains the ‘brain’ for these tools. So if something happens to the ‘brain’ you just swap out the battery and you’re back in business.”
“These tools are also completely weather proof,” Mickuleit said. “The trainers that were here last week actually threw one of the tools into a bucket of water. It didn’t effect the tool in the least – that’s just remarkable. So if a car ends up in a canal, the equipment will still work.”
“With the old equipment ,when we arrived on the scene, it would take the chief and I to get the pump (generator) to the vehicle and a third firefighter to grab the tool,” Barr said. “That’s three firefighters for one operation. With the new tools there’s just one firefighter. This is a tremendous time saver.”
“This means a lot when the clock is running,” Mickuleit said. “There’s something EMTs call the ‘Golden Hour.’ The ‘Golden Hour’ suggests that a person with a traumatic injury has a much better chance of survival if they arrive at the trauma center within one hour from the time of their accident so every minute counts. This new equipment reduces the amount of time it takes to get someone out of an automobile and on their way to the trauma center.”
The new equipment includes spreaders, cutters and rams.
“There’s also something completely new that protects those injured, EMTs and firefighters from accidental airbag explosions,” Mickuleit said. “Sometimes the airbags don’t deploy during the accident and when a firefighter or EMT is working to get people out the airbag explodes. Holmatro provides a solution to neutralize the impact. This new Kevlar airbag protection is quick and easy to install over the steering wheel. If the airbag explodes during the extrication process everyone is protected.
“To maintain the skills needed to operate at 100 percent you have to train constantly,” Mickuleit said. “Our guys train ‘hands-on’ twice a year. We also have ‘target solutions’ where these guys take at least 6 hours a month training on extrication tools, firefighter tactics, apparatus maintenance, all kinds of training to stay at the top of the profession.
“These new tools prepare us for the future,” Mickuleit said. “We have backup batteries, mobile chargers, batteries are also interchangeable and can be charged on 110 current. Plus these are American made. When our new truck arrives, we will have a community celebration. In the mean time, of course, the community is welcome to come by and meet their firefighters and EM’s and see the new equipment.
“I want to be sure to thank the people that made this possible,” Mickuleit said. “There’s Leoma Lovegrove, the Moose Lodge for allowing us to have the fish fry. We had donations from the KOA and Pine Island Pizza and Pine Islanders purchased T-shirts.”