New heavy rescue vehicle ordered for Yarmouth Fire Department

New vehicle will replace 31-year-old unit

The Yarmouth Fire Department is getting a new heavy rescue vehicle to replace a 31-year-old unit.

“She needs a lot of repair and has outlived her usefulness,” said platoon chief Hank Nickerson of the old truck.

The new vehicle will be used for the Jaws of Life apparatus, including cribbing, and also for carrying firefighting gear and air packs.

It has an interior area for a command centre and space on top for extra storage. Rescue tools can be hooked into the front bumper for deployment.

Nickerson says the new vehicle will have much better capability for scene lighting.

“We had very little of that in the past,” he said.

The new vehicle has a five-foot tower mounted with an array of lights. Each head has LED lights providing 28,000 lumens of light. Tripods in the back can be set down to light the back end of the vehicle. Brow lights provide extra lighting (20,000 lumens each) in front for accident scenes.

“We won’t be in the dark,” said Nickerson.

It will take about a year for the $607,483 truck to be manufactured by Micmac Fire and Safety Source and delivered.

A pumper truck that was ordered last year did not meet the department’s standards and was shipped back to the supplier.

The new heavy rescue vehicle is the next step in the apparatus management strategy developed by Chief John Verrall and his staff. The Town of Yarmouth has allowed for regular replacements to occur within its capital planning budget. Platoon chief Hank Nickerson stands next to a diagram of the new $607,483 heavy rescue vehicle that’s been ordered for the Yarmouth Fire Department.