Vernon residents come together to get a life-saving UTV for the fire department
APACHE COUNTY, Ariz. - UPDATE: Just two days after this report, a rural Arizona community came together to get life-saving equipment for their fire district. The fire district has found a UTV offered at a big discount by a resident. Destination Motorsport has agreed to do all the labor for free so it can be outfitted for rescues of all kinds. The district still needs donations to cover the parts for the modification.
A quick response from emergency crews can mean life or death.
For some living in rural Arizona on dirt roads, a tough winter can make it hard to get to their homes.
We're learning about the struggle one town is going through to find a new tool to help residents in need.
Vernon, Arizona is well over three hours away from Phoenix, past Show Low, and out there, city budgets are tight.
That’s why these Apache County residents are hoping they can come together to find a solution.
In Fountain Hills, many of their rescues are off the grid, on the dirt in the trails.
That’s why the Fountain Hills Fire Department invested this year in a UTV. Four wheels, four doors, a stretcher out the back and it can go anywhere.
"Allows us access to get us into places that would be otherwise difficult to do," said Andrew Huxtable with the Fountain Hills Fire Department. "We’re trying to fit in that golden hour if we can and get these patients taken care of."
Links to donate to the cause:
They rarely get snow on their trails, but out in the White Mountains, it’s a different story.
"It’s all dirt roads, so when it snows, these firemen, if it’s muddy, have no way to get there," Marsha Grombly said.
She just hosted a new fundraiser in the town of Vernon. It’s all about raising money for their fire department to get a UTV.
"Being able to get there right away is imperative. It will work with wildfires, we are right there at the base of the mountains," Grombly said.
Last winter, they needed it.
A base camp was set up for the response to a woman with a medical emergency, according to Vernon Fire District Chief, Dave Niehuis.
"Too much snow. We couldn’t push it out of the way easily enough. Couldn’t get a good enough grip. Even the big four-wheel drives with water weight onto it," Niehuis said.
They had to use a resident's snowmobile to get up and save her life.
He says they don’t have funding for a UTV, so this fundraiser is crucial.
"The reality is, we can barely afford to buy the old truck we have because we just don’t have the money," Niehuis said.
For the fire departments that already have it, they know how life-saving it can be.
"Even though it might be a one-time purchase, it’s used for years," Huxtable said.
The price is steep for it to be equipped properly for the snow.
They’ve raised $20,000 already but need a lot more. They’ve set up a nonprofit to raise money for the UTV in this rural Arizona town of Vernon.