City firefighters got their hands on new extrication tools tonight that were acquired with a FEMA grant the department received in January.
The tools are manufactured by Holmatro and include a cutter, a spreader and two rams along with rocker panel support.
The grant was for $60,000 and the money as also used to purchase struts for building and vehicle supports.
Tonight's training was conducted by Tim Norris, a rep for Holmatro.
Capt. Craig Williams said the department reviewed equipment from six different companies and invited four of them in for a head-to-head competition.
What he likes about the Holmatro products, he said, is the tools are the only one on the market that cut and spread in three stages. When there's no pressure on the blades, they move easily. As they feel pressure, they clap down harder, and in the third stage, when extra pressure is needed to finish the cut, the tool delivers maximum pressure.
Also, Williams said, the tools can be hot swapped from their hydraulic lines, meaning the line doesn't need to be drained of pressure before trading out a tool for a particular job.
Shifts of firefighters will be training with the new tools over the next few days.
Holmatro rep Tim Norris, center, conducting training.
Well, ain't that nice? FEMA
Well, ain't that nice? FEMA (I'm assuming this is 'our' FEMA) gave us a grant to buy a hydraulic cutting tool from Holmatro, a company headquartered in Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands. I find it hard to believe that there isn't a U.S.-based company that had the wherewithall to produce such an instrument. But, hey, at least we have McDonald's & Walmart.
I suppose we can at least be glad it wasn't a company based in Beijing. This time!!
Holmatro has a manufacturing
Holmatro has a manufacturing facility in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
In the last photo I beleive
In the last photo I beleive that is an American flag decal on the piece of equipment, so I sure hope it was mfg. in the US.
C.M, as is your norm, you
C.M, as is your norm, you fail to see where the real money goes. When will you wake up and see where your shared progessive/liberal outlook has brought us? Hillary will lose as she should.
"What does it matter"?
Bob, what the hell does
Bob, what the hell does Hillary have to do with this story? Does she sell extrication
tools, own a facility that produces them, or is she a firefighter???
The FD gets a new piece of
The FD gets a new piece of equipment to save more lives. But somehow it gets turned in to politics.
The piece is American made, however the company was founded in Netherlands. There are MANY companies like that, does that mean we should not buy any product with a company that is headquartered outside of the US? How stupid would that be? Batavia just brought in new yogurt facilities run by out of country companies (German and Columbia). Does that mean we shouldn't buy any Muller or Alpina yogurt? Why the hell did we just try so hard to bring them in to Batavia then?
What the hell does Hilliary have to do with our local FD getting new equipment?
How about we shut up and be glad that there are new tools to save lives. Maybe next time when you're in a car crash, you get in to a political debate with the firefighter about how you don't believe the FD should own the tools that are saving YOUR (or your loved ones) lives.
I'm willing to bet that Bob
I'm willing to bet that Bob doesnt give to chips in a pasture where the equipment comes from if he's trapped behind the wheel of a crushed vehicle. Just sayin
Bob, you have to have serious
Bob, you have to have serious issues if your bitch about this is Clinton. Kyle is right about this
Bob, if there is anything
Bob, if there is anything inaccurate about my statement; please enlighten me. The wide-brush and generally inaccurate characterization of my politics combined with an assertion alleging naivety as to "where the real money goes" magnifies your lack of credibility for assessing my "norm." As any longtime visitor to "the Batavian" can attest, I often post, sans personal comment or advocacy, solely to broaden the scope of discussion. It is certainly the privilege of any who read my posts to comment on them. One would have to be a sideshow huckster to connect YOUR reply to MY post in this thread. You know about as much about me as I know about differences in quality between manufacturers of emergency rescue tools. Hillary Clinton- my patootie!
If voting for Clinton meant
If voting for Clinton meant every fire department got the equipment they needed, that might get my vote.
Before the onset of modern
Before the onset of modern technology, communicatiom, and travel it was easy to isolate ourselves. We have a global economy. The sweatshirt I purchased from The Batavian was printed locally, but it was not made in the USA. Should we accuse Howard of some grand plan to help Hillary send money overseas? Sounds silly, because it is.