The Whitecourt Trailblazers look to enhance the area’s emergency fleet with a specialty vehicle made for almost anything

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Following a terrible accident back on December 27, 2020, Cindy Brooks of the Whitecourt Trailblazers and everyone involved in her rescue recognized significant holes in how emergencies in the backcountry are handled. The issues were not a negative hit to any of the first responders, who continually work diligently with the equipment they have at the ready. Instead, it showed that the fleet of equipment vehicles in Whitecourt is not adequately equipped to handle emergencies in remote locations.

The accident, a collision with a tree, left Brooks with a broken leg, including her knee and femur, and she is still recovering from it today. After the incident, a debrief took place to go over how the emergency unfolded and discover any shortcomings that need addressing. Brooks is an experienced rider who puts hundreds of kilometres on her snowmobile each year. Yet, she still found herself ten kilometres down a trail, injured, with the temperature at -20 and dropping. “We had already been out for six hours, and we’re heading back home. All the people I was with were fairly good riders, and they did what they had to do. They built a fire and wrapped me in a foil blanket pretty quickly. By the time I left the bush and got to the ambulance, it was ten o’clock and about -30,” explained Brooks.

“My accident brought a lot of attention to what we can do to improve our services. For us as Trailblazers, are we equipped to help people in the bush? It doesn’t matter if you are a kilometre or ten kilometres; you still need to be rescued in a way that’s safe for you and safe to all the rescue folks.” She said the realities of calling 911 from the bush are not what they look like in the movies. Many areas do not have cell service, and it’s hard to explain your whereabouts when there isn’t an address to give.

On Monday, June 14, Brooks and Fire Chief Brian Wynn and Greg Anderson of the Whitecourt Trailblazers presented an idea to Whitecourt Town Council that could help solve much of the issues raised during her accident. It is called a Fat Truck. It is basically the Canadian version of a Sherp, which is a Russian-made amphibious vehicle. The Fat Truck is made in Quebec and supplied through a retailer in Valley View called Low Impact. The Whitecourt Trailblazers look to fundraise for the vehicle and donate it to the Town of Whitecourt to add to the emergency fleet.

“The Whitecourt Fire Department would store the vehicle on their premises for easy access in the event of an emergency rescue situation,” explained Brooks. They are also looking to purchase a custom trailer to house the machine. Chief Wynn explained that they investigated getting a custom-made covered trailer and were surprised at the cost. “For 40 to 50 thousand dollars, we could have a really good, enclosed trailer for this unit. It could be made locally, be something that our three-quarter-ton command trucks could pull easily. My one condition would be to have a trailer that could be turned into a heated command shelter while the unit is out of the trailer. That makes it more multi-purpose.”

In Cindy’s case, to get back to civilization and get her the medical help needed, she had to ride in the department’s current off-road vehicle. “Our Argo is not warm or heated, so whatever transportation time it is on the way out, you’re still in the cold. The big thing we liked about this Fat Truck unit is that it is heated. You can get a patient inside it, and it is already warm.” Chief Wynn mentioned that during Cindy’s rescue, a paramedic road out on a snowmachine to reach the accident site and that by the time she arrived, she was frozen. “The heated element is definitely a requirement for the wintertime,” he said.

The truck can also handle the cold. “It has a heating system for the engine and the hydraulic system. When the vehicle is stored outside, it could be plugged in and assist with its starting. There would be no requirement for it to be fully warmed up before operation,” explained Anderson. “The truck itself uses a Caterpillar engine which is basically the same engine used in Caterpillar skid steers, and it uses a very similar hydraulic system.”

Outside of the blistering cold, the Fat Truck is a beast at transporting people and can move more than one injured person. “We could also use this for transporting crews for wildfire purposes, hoses and pumps, whatever. It can be used as multi-purpose as we can,” said Chief Wynn. Being amphibious, the Fat Truck would get crews anywhere they need to go, be it water, mud, snow or trails. “You can inflate or deflate the tires depending on the terrain. The tires are all low ground pressure. That way, anytime you are using it in the environment, there is very low impact to the environment,” explained Anderson.

Maneuvered with a joystick, just like a video game, the Fat Truck and trailer combo would cost around $250,000. Brooks said they plan to reach out to industry players in the area. “Anything can happen out there, not just in a recreation situation. It can occur in industry locations and fires.” She explained that they would be aiming for $275,000 to outfit the rig with emergency equipment, including stretchers.

Councillor Chauvet asked if Chief Wynn was looking to put a water cannon on it. He responded that he wasn’t, but Anderson explained that the option isn’t far-fetched since the truck has a payload of 2200 pounds. “That’s a considerable payload that could be utilized to install a water tank with a water pump for the fire fighting aspect. Low Impact has indicated that they do custom work and can pretty much build whatever we need.”

Councillor McAree mentioned his support. “Whitecourt isn’t just a winter backroad sport place. We do more quad rescues and boat rescues, and things like that than we do snowmobile rescues. Having a year-round piece of equipment is awesome.” Councillor Hilts asked how much Chief Wynn would have used the truck if he already had it, to which he responded that he would have used it three times this month alone.

Town Council accepted the presentation as information unanimously and directed Administration to work with the Trailblazers to see if they can help them in their goal, specifically through grant applications. CAO Peter Smyl said staff would bring something forward for Council’s approval over the next few months concerning adding the Fat Truck to the community fleet, potentially using it regionally, and the level of service they expect it to provide the area.