The Vermilion Fire Department is now able to reach more parts of the county for their search and rescue efforts with their new side-by-side ATV.
The department received $55,000 donation from Richardson Pioneer to purchase the ATV as well as a fire skid and a 20 foot enclosed trailer.
“It’s going to be an asset to our fire department in regards to our search and rescue, wildland fire and an overall benefit to our department and this community,” says Kevin Martin with the Vermillion Fire Department.
The department is made up of 30 members and they will all receive safety training for the vehicle before using it.
“The local department is made up of volunteers so we really appreciate their time and the extra time that they put in when they’re getting called out to some tricky situations. There’s a lot asked of them so putting some specialized tools in their hands is extremely important to us and we felt that it was a very meaningful contribution,” says Mike Schmidt, the Vermilion Richardson Pioneer Location Manager.
Martin says the fire department has been looking at purchasing the equipment for about a year and the ATV and fire skid will help them get to fires in rough terrains.
“We’ve had some grassland fires and some wildland fires in some coulee areas in terrains where half tons have a hard time getting down,” says Martin. “It’s going to be an asset to our fire department in regards to our search and rescue, wildland fire and an overall benefit to our department and this community.”
The trailer will be equipped with cots, heat and power in cases where the fire department has to assist in fighting fires in other areas. The Vermilion Fire Department was called out to help in the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016.
Richardson Pioneer supports communities through the Richardson Foundation. The foundation provides funding to different initiatives in communities where the company has a presence. In 2018, the foundation supported projects in Kitscoty, Consort and Unity.