INNISFAIL – The local fire department is looking to upgrade two important pieces of emergency rescue equipment.
During town council’s regular meeting on Jan. 22, Gary Leith, the town’s fire chief, said his department is looking for a new rescue boat and is selling its surplus 1998 American LaFrance pumper vehicle, which will be replaced with a new fire truck.
Council approved the spending of about $50 to advertise the sale of the surplus pumper, as well as the $5,000 donation from the Innisfail Fire Department Rescue Society that will go towards the purchase of a new rescue boat. Council also formally approved moving forward with the rescue boat purchase, which was approved in the 2018 budget.
Leith told council the appraised value of the pumper was about $60,000. If and when it is sold the money will then go into the town’s fire reserve account, with funds ultimately going towards the purchase of a new fire truck, a combination pumper rescue unit.
"That will give the best value for the service that will provide to the community,” said Leith.
He said the timing of the new pumper acquisition would depend on the town’s finances and how quickly the right unit can be identified for a replacement.
As for a new rescue boat, Leith said the estimated cost is about $53,000. However, with monies from the sale of the old unit and the $5,000 donation, the cost will be in the area of about $40,000. The old boat is about 24 years old and was previously in service with the Medicine Hat Fire Department and retired about eight years ago before it came to Innisfail, said Leith, adding the new craft will be critically important for river and lake rescue operations.
"We rescued a family of four off the (Red Deer) river itself, accessed off Highway 54, one of which had a stroke,” said Leith of a call that came in last August. "If we weren’t able to access him quickly using the boat and equipment we had from Red Deer County the outcome probably would have been different for the individual, who is walking, fully functional, and is recovering from that stroke that he had.”
He said the fire department is focusing on a new boat that will be the same 16-foot by eight-foot size as the old one but have an inboard motor instead of the outboard one in the existing craft. Leith said the new boat should be easier to maintain as the old one with the outboard system tends to get blocked with weeds, pebbles and rocks.
As well, said the fire chief, the new boat with modernized engineering for the propulsion system will be much safer and reliable for rescue operations, and better equipped with a depth sounder and fish finder.
Gary Leith, the town's fire chief
"That will give the best value for the service that will provide to the community."
