ATV donated to Richmond fire district

From the Friday, August 1, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

ATV donated to Richmond fire district
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

RICHMOND – The Richmond Township Fire Protection District recently added to its fleet an all-terrain vehicle with the ability to tread through rough surfaces and help fight field fires.

Richmond Fire Chief Rick Gallas said the ATV was a long-term purchase that Richmond Fire had been hoping to make.

“When you think about where you are today and where you’ll be 10 years from now, you don’t want to be caught without [what you need],” Gallas said.

The ATV was donated by McHenry-based Medcor, a health care company that provides employee screenings. The company gave the department a similar unit last year.

It’s designed to tackle tough terrain, such as mud, snow or marsh, where fire and ambulance trucks aren’t able to go. It has a special unit with the ability to release high-pressure water and foam at the rate of 3 gallons a minute. This unit also can be removed if medical rescue is needed.

“All this is really lightweight, which allows us to get into tougher areas,” Gallas said.

The ATV hasn’t been used to fight any fires yet, but it made its public debut at Country Thunder in Wisconsin last month.

Gallas said the ATV especially would be helpful on the hundreds of acres of the McHenry County Conservation District that fall within the fire protection district.

“There’s a lot of terrain that’s difficult for regular trucks to access,” said Ed Collins, natural resource manager. “The ATVs are designed to go on that rough ground.”

Collins said the conservation district and Richmond Fire had been working together for years, and that the ATV was a great addition to the fleet.

“It’s a nice piece of equipment,” Collins said.

Spring Grove Fire Protection District has a similar unit, a six-wheel drive Polaris ATV, that has been used to fight grass fires and make rescues.