Valleywide : New Heavy Rescue Truck Showcased

A newly purchased, specially equipped truck, which will enhance emergency workers’ ability to rescue people trapped under cars and other heavy objects, was showcased Tuesday at City Hall.

The Los Angeles Fire Department, which will operate the so-called heavy rescue apparatus, demonstrated the vehicle to Mayor Richard Riordan, City Councilman Michael Feuer and Fire Commissioner Beth Lowe.

Using a remote-control device, Riordan manipulated the truck’s boom, which hoisted an old car from heavy chains.

Interim Fire Chief Bill Bamattre, pretending to mistake the trashed Hornet for a city car, quipped, “Mayor, don’t you think that’s taking budget cuts a little too far?”

The department will use the $290,000 truck in addition to a 22-year-old heavy rescue vehicle that it will keep as a backup and for major disasters. The special features of the new apparatus, which is bright red and looks like a huge tow truck, include a boom that can extend to 29 feet and is fully rotational.

That affords it distinct advantages over the department’s old heavy rescue truck’s shorter boom that could turn only 180 degrees. According to Deputy Fire Chief Davis Parsons, the new features give the department much more time-saving flexibility--crucial in life-and-death situations.

With the old vehicle, great care had to be taken to line it up just right before trying to lift something, such as a car that has plunged into a ravine. With the new vehicle, rescue workers need only back up the rig and quickly position the hydraulic boom via remote controls.

The new truck will also be outfitted with air bags and other tools that will enable emergency workers to free people trapped in collapsed buildings, such as in earthquakes. The apparatus was bought using funds from a city bond program that raises money for heavy equipment purchases.