Council approves purchase of UTV, three LifePak units for RFD

A utility task vehicle (UTV) and three LifePak units are on the way to the Rhinelander Fire Department after the Rhinelander Common Council approved the purchases last week. The UTV, to be purchased from Shoeder’s RV and Marine, has a price tag of $37,923.33. The LifePak units, a type of portable defibrillator/cardiac monitor, cost $147,420.13. Funds for the purchases will be allocated through the biannual capital borrowing program, according to the information included in the council packet.
Fire chief Brian Tonnancour said the new LifePak units are needed to replace equipment that has “exceeded its lifespan.” The upgraded equipment will “enhance our capabilities out in the field for our ALS response,” he added.
“Our current life packs we got when we first started the ambulance service back in 2010 and we’ve used them up until this point,” Tonnancour explained. “They no longer make the parts for them, so this is a need for us at this point in time. These are cutting edge.”
ALS is an acronym for advanced life support. An ALS response is dispatched when an emergency call involves serious or potentially life-threatening medical conditions — such as cardiac arrest, severe trauma, breathing difficulties, or major bleeding — where rapid, high-level intervention can improve survival chances. The request to purchase the UTV was prompted by the addition of the Heal Creek property and the development of silent sports trails there.
“We noticed that we have a need to be able to get back to these areas, and we can’t do it in a regular pickup truck or ambulances or anything,” Tonnancour explained. “This UTV comes with what’s called a skid unit, which has a pump on it with water capability and foam capability in case of a wild land fire. It also has a carrier for a litter for EMS emergencies, and it can carry our crews out to wherever we need to go in remote areas. And it can, it can transport patients back out into where our ambulances are. So this is another, another piece that increases our capabilities within the city and the surrounding communities. This will also help us with ice rescues, searches, anything of that sort. So this will be a huge addition to us.”

Dr. Lee Swank donated the 416-acre Heal Creek property to the city in 2022. Since that time, the city has been focused on developing it as a silent sports recreational area. The Heal Creek Dog Dash & Winter Festival is held there annually.During discussion, Mayor Kris Hanus asked if the Crescent Fire Department, which is located approximately 1,000 feet from Heal Creek, has a UTV that the department could request use of as part of mutual aid.
Tonnancour confirmed that Crescent does have a vehicle but he stressed that “minutes and seconds count in these calls” and he wouldn’t want to wait for equipment to show up to be able to respond to an emergency.
“This year we have already had two responses to the Heal Creek area where we had to rely on a personal vehicle to transport our personnel to the patient,” Tonnancour wrote in a memo to city administrator Patrick Reagan explaining the UTV purchase request. “This unit gives us the capability to respond to medical emergencies and has the ability to carry water and foam to fight wildland and brush fires while transporting crews. We have many other uses planned for this unit during all four seasons of the year.”