Fire department shares resource with neighbor

In an effort of good will, cooperation and making the most of assets at hand, the Clinton Fire Department Monday officially donated a rescue truck to the Arapaho Fire Department.
It’s a move Interim Clinton Fire Chief Brett Russell said strengthens both departments.
“It’s a win-win for us all,” he said. “I really see it as us gaining another rescue truck instead of losing one.
“We help one another out quite a bit. For two departments just five miles apart it makes a lot of sense. If we are working an accident here and get tied up, then they can bring that one down here on standby.”
Arapaho Fire Department gains possession of the 1997 Ford F Super Duty truck. Plans are for the department to at some point remove the back end or the box that rests behind the cab and install it on another truck the department plans to use.
Once the box is placed on Arapaho’s truck, then the donated truck will be given back to the Clinton Fire Department.
“I really don’t expect that to happen anytime soon,” Russell said. “I told them they could keep it and use it as long as they needed to. I don’t expect it back anytime in the near future.”
“At some point we’d like to put the box on a four-wheel drive truck,” said Arapaho Chief Jared Howell. “We’d like to put it on one of our brush trucks that is four-wheel drive because this one is two-wheel drive.” 
Russell said he thought plans were in motion to make the truck donation back during Randy Carpenter’s tenure as fire chief, so he said he is glad to get the rescue truck in use at Arapaho.
When the rescue truck returns back to Clinton with its cab and chassis intact, Russell said there is the possibility to put the vehicle back in use to transport hoses after fighting fires.
“That would sure make it easier to load and unload when we get down on a fire,” Russell said. “We will use it more as a utility vehicle. In fact, it will be open to the city to use when we get it back.”
In addition to giving Arapaho the truck, the City of Clinton authorized the Clinton Fire Department to sell spare extrication tools, including a set of Jaws of Life, to the Arapaho Fire Department for $1,500.
“That’s significantly cheaper,” Russell said when talking about how much the equipment would be to purchase new today. “With these tools and the rescue truck, it just makes it like we have two units in operation.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Chief Howell.
“It’s a big deal,” he said. “We’ve never had a rescue truck or Jaws of Life in Arapaho before. I feel like both of us are getting a truck out of this. It’s a big deal for sure.
“Just to purchase the tools you are looking at in excess of $20,000. It’s a hefty price tag for sure, but we want to be able to use the equipment on a call if we need it. You hope you never have to, but it could well save someone’s life.”
Clinton and Arapaho firefighters have stood side by side many times in emergency situations. There’s a natural proximity there and according to Russell, it’s practical and sensible to operate in a neighborly manner.
“We are going to start getting back to some of that,” he said. “We need not only to look out for Clinton, but all of Custer County with every opportunity. The departments do a great job of helping each other out and that’s a good thing.
“We’re real quick to help each other out,” Howell said. “It feels good to work together on things like this.”