ST. MARYS — Purchasing a mobile command unit and an all-terrain-vehicle has been on the short list for the St. Marys Police and Fire departments for a long time.
It finally came down to a matter of timing.
Scott Moell, the owner of Arby’s in St. Marys, is celebrating the store’s 20th year in town this year.
“The community has always been supportive,” Moell said. “We wanted to do something to show our appreciation.”
Moell met with police Chief Mark Ernst and fire Chief Doug Ayers. He asked them if there had been anything they had been looking for that they were never able to get the funding for. Both had an immediate answer.
Moell donated $21,000 to the departments for the purchase of the 2016 ATV Ranger and the trailer. The trailer is large enough to fit the ATV as well as hold office space and equipment for the mobile command unit.
“It has been on our wish list for years,” Ernst said. “However, it always got to the end of the year and things would get tight. We would have to put it off again.”
A short ceremony was held at the St. Marys Arby’s on Wednesday to showcase the donation. However, the unit has already been in use for a short time. In fact, the ATV was used to catch a couple of suspects on the tow path of the canal and also to help round up several cows that had got loose around town. Ernst said it increases the capabilities of both departments.
“We can use it to get to people in cornfields or a woods,” Ernst said. “It was something that was much more difficult before getting this piece of equipment. If there was a situation like a hunter falling out of a tree stand and we needed to get to him, this makes it much easier.”
Ayers agreed it increases the abilities of the Fire Department.
“Just a week before we got it, we had a wreck where a vehicle went pretty far off into a plowed field,” Ayers said. “There were some challenges for us in being able to get to the vehicle. These are the kind of incidents that it is designed for.”
Ayers said it is also possible to use the vehicle for patient transport or to transport equipment so a patient can be packaged and taken to a waiting ambulance for transport.
“It is nice that it is something that both departments can utilize,” Moell said.
The ATV will be also be used for special events. The vehicle is equipped with a removable gurney system.
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Lance Mihm photo
