Countywide : Equipment Added to Sheriff’s Rescue Unit

Three new rescue vehicles and life-saving equipment with a total cost of more than $60,000 have been added to the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Search and Rescue Unit.

Lt. Dick Olson said the new equipment includes a 14,000-pound van loaded with special equipment, an 86,000-pound four-wheel drive cargo van that is designed to carry supplies and special equipment over all types of terrain and a 15-passenger station bus to transport rescue workers.

Olson said the new equipment “is very important to us. If you don’t have good, dependable equipment, your efforts can be delayed, and it can even be a hazard to the rescue team.”

He said the 55-member rescue team, composed of reserve deputies who volunteer time on rescues, serves the unincorporated areas of the county and assists in emergency efforts in adjoining areas.