Fire officials demonstrate Rescue Alive equipment

The equipment, to be used for water and ice rescues, cost less than 6,000.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LAKE MILTON -- Should the need arise, the Milton Township Volunteer Fire Department will likely be in a better position to perform water and ice rescues, thanks to new and more sophisticated equipment.
At Tuesday's trustees' meeting, fire Capt. Kevin Read and assistant Chief Harold Maynard demonstrated the Rescue Alive equipment.
The package can be used on Lake Milton in the winter if someone falls through ice, for example, or in the summer when the lake and beach see a heavy volume of use, explained Chief Rick Pellin.
Safety features
The equipment cost was just under 5,500, and its main feature is an 88-pound compact pontoon boat that easily folds out and is accessible to moving or still water.
One rescuer will be able to take the boat onto the water and use straps to secure and pull the person out while another rescuer stays ashore and attaches a rope to the device to pull the people in, Read and Maynard noted.
The firefighter can straddle the boat while performing the rescue, which offers protection from falling into the water, they pointed out.
Other features include three waterproof orange dry suits that protect rescuers from hypothermia, oars with a pick to cut through ice, ice and rope bags, and a set of water "jaws' that can be adjusted to up to 18 feet and used to fasten around a victim's chest area.
The boat can be towed with a set of jet skis and has a weight capacity of about 600 pounds, Pellin said. It's also designed to stabilize someone suffering from a neck or back injury, the chief continued.
Pellin noted that the equipment also can be used on nearby Berlin Lake and Meander Reservoir, as well as on the many smaller bodies of water in the area.
In other business
Trustees approved a motion to hire Chris Hunsicker as a part-time assistant township zoning inspector. Hunsicker, of Lake Milton, is likely to start Monday and will make 8 an hour for the first month and 10 an hour after the third month, Trustee Harold Moore said.