6-4-09 Donation to TFR of Personal EMS Vehicles

The City of Tampa regularly hosts large-scale public events that draw hundreds of thousands of spectators from the state of Florida and across the U.S., causing paramedics to navigate through large crowds in order to perform advanced life support on injured or sick civilians.




Halcyon Underwriters, Inc. is partnering with Fireman's Fund Insurance to award Tampa Fire Rescue a $25,000 grant that is earmarked for vehicles that will support the department's emergency response efforts during large-scale events.

Specifically, donated funds will purchase three Segway i2 Personal Transporters with saddlebags to carry medical equipment, and a utility vehicle. The transporters are two-wheel vehicles that drivers stand on and control through body movement. The narrow 19 x 25" footprint of the vehicle allows paramedics to quickly move in and out of crowded environments that cannot be accessed by ambulances, while utility vehicles can swiftly transport injury victims to the ambulance. Until now, Tampa Fire Rescue had to rely on outside agencies for loans of their vehicles during major events.

"These response vehicles have proven to be invaluable to the City of Tampa and, in fact, during the Gasparilla Run one of these transporters was instrumental in saving a runner's life when the individual suffered sudden cardiac arrest," said Tampa Fire Chief Dennis Jones. "Our paramedics were able to quickly arrive on the scene and provide life-saving measures."

Chief Jones and Tampa Fire Rescue firefighters will be joined by local officials and executives from Halcyon Underwriters and Fireman's Fund for the presentation of the grant package. A personal transporter will be showcased, with Chief Jones discussing how the vehicles will support the department's emergency response efforts.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• halcyon
• underwriters
• fireman's
• fund
• insurance
• EMS
• tampa
• fire
• segway