MANCHESTER — There’s a big difference between the two newest vehicles belonging to the Manchester Fire Department.
One is a massive fire truck that seats five first responders and carries everything they’d need to respond to a motor vehicle accident. The other is a nimble side-by-side that has already proven it can take on backwoods terrain.
They both could help the department get you out of a fix, or even save your life.
Chief Chris Towslee and firefighter Jim Doherty ran the Journal through the vehicles’ capabilities in a recent visit to the station, as both vehicles were recently activated for service.
The new side-by-side proved its worth on Sunday, as Manchester firefighters helped transport a man injured in a dirt bike accident in the Beartown section of Sandgate.
Responders got the rider from the accident scene to a waiting helicopter on Route 313 in about half an hour – a fraction of the time it would have taken a crew to carry him out, Towlsee and Doherty said.
Meanwhile, Rescue 10 is a toolbox on wheels, equipped with everything the department needs in an emergency or at an accident scene to save lives. It arrived in December and has been fully stocked and readied for service by the department, including the “Jaws of Life” equipment the department purchased with its own money.
READINESS IS ALL
While Rescue 10 has a lot of equipment in its various compartments, it’s all organized with potential operational needs in mind.
“We put everything together that goes together. Every pod has a purpose,” Doherty said.
“Any kind of rescue you can imagine this truck can handle,” Towlsee added.
The side-by-side is built to carry a stokes basket on its back, with room for a firefighter or EMT to tend to the injured party. It can also be used in back country or brush fire operations, and comes equipped with a portable generator.
The side-by-side reduces the need for manpower in a backwoods rescue – as well as the time it takes to transport an injured person to awaiting medical care.
“If you’re going up a goat path you need 25 men – you’ve got to change out teams,” Doherty said. “It’s long and arduous.”
With the side-by-side, it took half an hour to get the injured rider to the landing zone established by Arlington firefighters.
Doherty was officially honored with the Manchester Firefighter Association’s firefighter of the year award at the department’s Monday meeting. The award is chosen by the department’s elected officers for all-around contributions to the department, including the number of calls they responded to and the time they put in for the department.
Doherty still remembers where he was when he decided to become a firefighter – when he met several members of the squad at Race for the Cure breast cancer fundraising event at Hildene. That was 20 years ago.
“I think it’s working with the fellow firefighters,” Doherty said of his reasons for continuing to serve. “We’ve got a pretty tight team here – it’s very professional, very organized, and we’ve got good leadership. I’m very proud to be a member of the department.”
At present, the department stands at 29 members. While Towslee isn’t certain how that compares to staffing in similar-sized towns across the state, “I know everybody’s down and everybody can use help,” he said.
New members are always welcome. The department holds meetings the first Monday of every month, with training exercises on the second and third Mondays and officers meetings on the fourth Monday.
It takes about eight months for new firefighters to get their certification. Recruits need to spend a weekend per month training at the state fire academy in Pittsford and pass a practical test to gain a state Firefighter 1 certification.