Published: July 24, 2008 10:16 am         

Power to the People

Firefighters in New Creek gain gear to better battle a blaze

NEW CREEK, W.Va. - The New Creek Volunteer Fire Department is fast approaching a record-breaking year and with the increase in emergencies, the fire department has decided to purchase additional equipment.

"We were looking to replace our old air cascade system," said Dustin Amtower, assistant fire chief.

The department had a busy month of June, answering 69 emergencies. Of those 69 emergencies, the department assisted or required assistance 31 times. The average response time for June was 6.91 minutes, which is a record for the volunteers. As of July 14, the New Creek Fire Department had handled 401 emergencies this year. The department posts its statistics monthly in the station.

In early June, the officers found a used apparatus for sale from the Marcus Hook (Pa.) Volunteer Fire Department. The unit is a 1998 Spartan Chassis New Lexington Body and possesses an air cascade system equipped with a compressor. This air cascade system, which is used to refill the firefighters' air packs, can refill six bottles at a time, where the old one could only refill one at a time. The new one has a compressor, which means air is continually generated by the unit and does not need to be replenished at the station. The apparatus will produce air for as long as needed.

"It's a huge asset for the community. It's unique because we can now have massive amounts of breathable air and it generates a massive amount of electricity," said Chris Biggs, New Creek fire chief.

There is no other such air cascade system in Mineral County, and for the past three years the department has been doing fundraisers to accumulate the $170,000 that it took to purchase the truck.

"The funding came from our letter drive mainly, some also came from the state, county and local funding, but mainly from the letter drive," said Amtower.

In addition to the added compressor, the new air cascade has an 85-kilowatt generator built into the body. The unit also has a light tower rated at 6 kW, as well as other lighting mounted around the vehicle. The department that is selling the truck was recently called 168 miles away to New York to use the apparatus to power a nursing home during a power outage.

"It is the largest generator of any fire apparatus in the area. It can power the hospital," said Amtower.

Rapid Intervention Team equipment will be placed on the unit as a resource to rescue firefighters in the event of an emergency where the volunteers become trapped.

Keyser Wal-Mart Supercenter also donated two new GPS units thanks to manager Scott Corbin. The Magellan Navigation GPS devices will greatly increase the accuracy and advance the response time by helping to give precise directions. The devices will be placed on both ambulances. The department plans to purchase two more, one for the rapid response unit and one for the air cascade.

The unit was on display at the annual carnival that was held last week.