West Paris FD raising money to buy 'jaws'

WEST PARIS —  The West Paris Fire Department is planning to buy a new extrication rescue tool with money from a grant.

Selectmen agreed to utilize the grant money, which was originally intended for air packs that the department purchased last year, toward the purchase of an NFPA-compliant Genesis combination tool for extrication purposes. 

Selectman Wade Rainey made the motion; Selectman Dennis Henderson seconded.

The extrication tool costs $8,975. A three-port battery charging station costs $395, West Paris Fire Chief Norm St. Pierre said.

According to St. Pierre, the jaws run on 28-volt Milwaukee batteries, that can be purchased at a Home Depot and easily replaced if necessary. Each of the three batteries the device needs lasts for about 45 minutes, he said.

"I think it's a fairly decent deal," St. Pierre said. 

The tool has an operating pressure of 10,500 pounds per square inch. Its maximum spreading force is 72,216 lbf (pounds of force) and the maximum pulling force is 11,700 lbf, St. Pierre said.

The rescue system comes with three tools – a spreader, a cutter and a hydraulic ram, he told selectmen. "We really can't beat it," he said, for what the tool costs. 

Older style tools have too many issues, St. Pierre said.

According to St. Pierre, the new tool would have been helpful to have when responding to the head-on car crash in Route 219 in Sumner earlier this month which sent the drivers of both vehicles to the hospital for serious injuries.

The other $6,000 needed to purchase the tool will be raised, St. Pierre told selectmen; $2,000 of it will be donated by the West Paris Fireman's Auxiliary, he said. 

St. Pierre said after he completes a cost and safety analysis, he will also be applying for another $2,000 from the Maine Municipal Association, and possibly for a local grant through the Wal-Mart Foundation. 

In addition, he said, the department will raise money through the Old Home Days chicken barbecue and other fundraisers in June. The hope is to have the tool by summer, St. Pierre said. 

In other news, the board: 

• Reported that debris from a dismantled dangerous building located at 69 Morse Hill Road is slated to be removed from the property by selectmen in the spring. 

• Authorized Town Manager John White to sign the contract with the Information Resource of Maine (InforMe) for online rapid renewal of motor vehicle registrations.