FPS staff report
November 10, 2009
The fall hunting season is upon us.
The Carrollton Village Fire Department Multi-Emergency Rapid Intervention Team (MERIT) has purchased rope rescue equipment used to raise and lower victims from low or high places through a system of ropes, pulleys and carbiners. Climbing sticks often used by hunters to climb trees to gain access to their tree stands can also be used to rescue them.
Rick Eddy, MERIT coordinator, said, “With deer hunting season upon us, the MERIT organization decided to purchase this type of equipment first. Team members will train with and use this equipment to rescue hunters who have become ill or have fallen from their tree stands and are suspended by their safety harness. The equipment can and will be used for high and low angle rope rescues such as cell tower rescues, as the team acquires funding and training in these disciplines,” continued Eddy.
MERIT has been awarded a grant for $7,500 from the Carroll County Foundation to be used toward the purchase of a computer and classroom visual aid equipment to be used for further training. Eddy stated, “It is the goal of MERIT to acquire additional training in Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), Tower Rescue, Structural Collapse and Swift Water Rescue. Several team members attended the two day Farm Accident Rescue Class sponsored by the Carroll County Firefighter’s Association and Carroll County Farm Bureau.”
MERIT is in the process of obtaining materials donated by local businesses to build a small rescue trailer to pull behind an ATV vehicle to be used to extricate victims from remote areas not accessible from the road.
Funds used to purchase the rope rescue equipment were raised by the village fire department through ticket sales from a gun raffle and operating the hotdog stand at Thorne’s Market. MERIT also received a $500 donation from an anonymous source.
“We can’t thank donors and the community for all the support they give us,” stated Eddy.
Any individual, business or organization wishing to make a monetary or equipment donation to MERIT can contact any Carrollton Village firefighter or stop at the firehouse at 135 3rd St. SW. during weekly meetings Monday at 7 p.m. |
