The Potsdam Volunteer Fire Department recently received a couple of large donations to help offset the cost of purchasing a new fire rescue apparatus. Clarkson University and St. Lawrence Health have committed funds toward the cost of a new fire rescue truck.
St. Lawrence Health distributed its donation to the fire department earlier this year. Clarkson will provide payments to the department over the next five years starting next summer to defray the cost of the new fire fighting vehicle. This is timed with finishing payments on a previous donation to the Potsdam Volunteer Rescue Squad.
The new vehicle will be used to respond to everything from car accidents to structure fires and water rescues. It will be equipped with upgraded safety features such as the jaws-of-life and have an on-board air compressor used to refill firefighter SCBA air packs; which are used during extreme fires or hazmat conditions. This new apparatus will hold six fully-equipped firefighters and replaces a vehicle that has been in service since 1994.
“Our local first responders are a critical extension of the care we provide within the walls of our hospitals and without them our community would undoubtedly suffer. Collectively with their robust training, years of experience, and {now} a modern first response vehicle, we can be assured their response efforts to emergencies are second to none,” said Vice President of Business Development Brent Bishop.
“Clarkson’s relationship with the Potsdam Fire Department and units across the North Country runs deep. We have students and staff who volunteer their time with the local department as first responders, and we look to those same volunteers to respond to our campus in emergencies,” said Kelly Chezum, Vice President for Marketing and External Relations at Clarkson. “From our residence halls to our research labs, we respect the commitment from our first responders, and they always deliver.”
With a total price of nearly $700,000 for the new fire rescue apparatus, more donations are still needed to help offset the cost. “We expect that this vehicle will be in service for the next 35 years or so and it will be required to help us meet the emergency needs of our community,” said Lt. Jessie Kozak of the Potsdam Volunteer Fire Department.
For more information or to make a donation, contact Lt. Kozak at 315-265-3312.
