Union Springs Firefighters have a new tool in their arsenal to help those in need, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
The Union Springs Volunteer Fire Department is excited to showcase its new tracked UTV. Speaking with Finger Lakes News Radio, Chief Garret Waldron said it’s an indispensable tool for a department serving a rural community.
“This will allow us to work off the road a lot easier and gain faster access to a party who has been injured or an incident that we had to get to off the road like Great Gully, down there doing gully rescues.”
Waldron added that, before the purchase of the UTV, the department relied on mutual aid from the Owasco Fire Department.
The tracks allow the UTV to handle mud, snow, and any other condition that would pose difficulties for a wheeled vehicle. The vehicle is also equipped with an EMS unit and a portable pump allowing crews to respond to field fires without the need to send a pump-equipped pickup truck.
“The track unit will allow us to go three times farther than we could with a wheel unit that size so we are very happy,” Waldron continued.
The vehicle and its accompanying equipment and apparatuses came with a price tag of $58,000, Waldron was quick to point out that the vehicle didn’t cost taxpayers a penny. He said this UTV, along with Rescue 2 which replaced the department’s ambulance, was made possible thanks to the grant funding, and generous donations from individuals, businesses, and the Cayuga Nation.
The department was recently awarded $10,000 in grant funding for the vehicle.
The department is still accepting donations to help pay off the UTV as well as the general operation costs of the volunteer organization. If you’d like to help the department or learn more about their work, you can visit their website, unionspringsfiredepartment.com.
