NEW YEAR, NEW JAWS
The La Broquerie Fire Department of Manitoba will be receiving a new Jaws of Life set to help the unit respond more swiftly to multiple vehicle collisions.
“We’ve been looking at these for a couple of years now and this year it worked out quite well,” notes Fire Chief Alain Nadeau, who said he has been putting pressure on the town council to make the purchase.
The department’s old set of jaws required a bulky generator to receive power, whereas the new one is completely electrical. The new generator’s discrepancy, according to Nadeau, will make a huge difference on the scene of a crash.
Because the department’s current jaws are so cumbersome and complicated, setting them up takes a lot of time (a factor that becomes problematic if there’s more than one person injured or trapped).
Nadeau explained that for vehicles to be 121 m. to 150 m. (400 ft. to 500 ft.) apart after a severe head-on collision is not uncommon. “That makes it quite tricky because you have to work at one end and then move everything to the other end,” said Nadeau. The new Jaws of Life will ensure everyone receives the care they need as quickly as possible as the new equipment is more maneuverable, he said.
The new jaws are locally sourced in Carman, according to Nadeau, which can be easily repaired by the manufacturers without too much delay if something were to break. After recognizing all these factors, Deputy Reeve Ivan Normandeau said Council unanimously approved the $48,393 purchase in their most recent meeting.
He also added that roughly half of that sum will come from the municipality’s general budget for 2020 and the other half will come from the one-time COVID-19 funding that they received from the government late last month. The La Broquerie Fire Department will be receiving their new device sometime in January 2021.
