ROCKINGHAM-The newly consolidated Rockingham Fire and Rescue Department (RFRD) is moving ahead with new equipment and other efforts to help ensure its ability to provide services to the entire town.
To that end, in February, the RFRD acquired a new utility terrain vehicle (UTV) — and a trailer to transport it — to help in off-road fire and rescue operations.
The department also has a Rockingham Community Risk Reduction program to help residents make sure their homes are easily identifiable in emergencies.
The department’s Firefighters Association (FFA), which includes all the active members of the consolidated departments, raises money each year, particularly through sponsoring a Santa’s Express event. This holiday-themed train ride for families takes place during the fall holiday season with Santa Claus and other characters along for the ride.
The FFA uses the money raised from the event to enhance safety in the community. Last year, the funds were used to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and distribute them to strategic spots around the town for use during cardiac emergencies.
Proceeds from this past holiday’s fundraiser will be used to help as many as 60 families acquire reflective address numbers that can be displayed on their homes, mailboxes, or other spots to help quickly identify the property in an emergency.
Anyone can visit rockbf.org or the RFRD Facebook page for more information or to order reflective E911 address signs. The cost for the first 60 or so orders will be covered by the FFA. The signs are $12.95 for a one-sided sign or $14.95 for a two-sided.
“Especially now that we have one department covering the whole town, this will be very helpful for people to mark their home or garage” said Firefighter Wade Masure, who is organizing the program. “Anything that can speed up the process of identifying the correct address in an emergency is important.”
There are also some duplicate street and road names in different parts of the town — for instance, there are two Oak Streets — and anything that speeds up accurate identification in an emergency is helpful.
Masure said that the newly purchased Can-Am UTV is “handy to have in rural areas.”
Now that the RFRD is responding to fires and emergencies throughout the town, including its rural areas, having a UTV is important.
The RFRD UTV is equipped to carry someone on a stretcher out of a wilderness or off-road area. The UTV and trailer cost around $29,000 and were donated to the town.
The former Rockingham Volunteer Fire Department had a UTV and trailer that had been used for this purpose. But that department operated independently of the town, and that UTV was not passed on to the RFRD when the three fire departments were consolidated last year.
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.