By Joyce E. Portik
Clay Co. Fire & Rescue
As part of a five-year plan to update the department’s fleet, Clay County Fire & Rescue is proud to announce a combination Wildland and Rescue Vehicle for the east end of Clay County. Chief Brian Anderson hands keys to this newly acquired vehicle to Battalion Chief Pete Trocchia as this apparatus will be housed in Station 6 for predominantly the Shooting Creek area.
Since the consolidated, the department has completed an analysis of past calls for all Clay County Stations in an effort to accomplish two things:
• Make sure that, based on call volume and types of calls, the apparatus and/or equipment is strategically placed to best meet that fire district’s needs which will improve response times.
• Reduce equipment duplication and replacement/repair costs.
The analysis of the Shooting Creek area proved that we could strategically place a combination Wildland and Rescue vehicle to handle emergency calls in that area rather than having two separate, larger vehicles to accomplish the same tasks. This vehicle will primarily be used for rescues and wildfires. Its size and maneuverability will allow it to get into areas of limited space in the mountains better than a full-size truck can.
It is strongly felt that this type of vehicle will prove to be invaluable to the department.