LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — If you call 911 in Kingston or Forty Fort, the "squad vehicle" is the first vehicle you're likely to see when first responders arrive.
"The squad is a multi-purpose vehicle. It goes on EMS calls to basically break the wear and tear down of the big apparatus," said Kingston/Forty-Fort Fire Chief Frank Guido. "So it's a first vehicle for EMS calls. Plus, it's also a utility vehicle that carries air packs, sump pumps for pumping basements. It's a cargo body, so we can pick up posts from the street to get it back to the station to get it packed on the apparatus."
Thanks to an annual state Fire Company and Emergency Medical Services Grant, a little more than $27,000 is going to the Kingston/Forty-Fort Fire, the department will be be paying off close to half of its debt on a new vehicle.
"We actually ordered this vehicle a year ago through Costars from one of the local dealers, Bonners, and we didn't think we're gonna get it, and he just recently called and said he found one for us," Guido said.
Also receiving grants were 21 other departments in Luzerne County, including the Back Mountain Regional Fire and EMS.
Members of the department say this construction is made possible by the extra funding.
Because of its regionalization, Back Mountain Regional Fire and EMS got one of the highest grants, more than $46,000, that will go toward debt reduction on the expansion of its location on Route 118 and Lehman Township.
West Wyoming hose Company is on the list, too, for a little more than $35,000.
"This year, we decided to purchase a six-wheel all-terrain vehicle basically used for search and rescue, brush fires, any emergency we can't access with our larger apparatus, and will be used throughout the Wyoming Valley," said Chief Len Hromek, West Wyoming Hose Company. "We're also part of the West Side mutual aid. So this equipment will also be available to departments from West Pittston to Plymouth Township, Laflin, Hanover."
For a full list of grants awarded to departments around the state, click here.
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