MORGANTOWN — In the years that followed Sept. 11, 2001, the state of West Virginia disbursed assets worth millions of dollars to bolster the state’s ability to respond to disasters of all types.
Along with the federally funded equipment came a mandate to form regional rapid response teams that could mount up with the appropriate gear and get to the scene.
Monongalia County, and more specifically Mon EMS, was a major player. By 2008, two regional response vehicles were parked here.
One is a 2004 GMC 4500 with a 2003 PACE American Trailer kitted out for urban search and rescue – think pulling survivors from collapsed buildings or facilitating trench rescue.
The other is a 2005 Freightliner tractor pulling a Hackney Trailer that is, in essence, a mobile hospital known as a mass casualty incident trailer capable of delivering a triage unit for as many as 50 patients.
“As you can imagine with any state program, they were really good at getting it off the ground, but they did a really poor job of maintaining it or planning any type of upkeep on any of the equipment,” Mon EMS Executive Director Forest Weyen explained. “The teams have all kind of disintegrated and basically the people holding the assets now just have assets and no plan.”
So Weyen approached the state with a proposal — either take the vehicles back or deed them over to the county so local tax dollars can be invested in them in good conscience.
And it appears that’s what’s going to happen.
The urban rescue truck is moving on, likely to become an asset of the Bridgeport Fire Department. But Weyen wants to keep the mass casualty vehicle.
While it doesn’t get out much, he said Mon EMS goes through the hour-long staging process any time there’s a major event in north-central West Virginia.
It was ready in July when Buckhannon hosted the World Association of Marching Show Bands. It was ready two weeks ago when the Backyard Brawl returned to town. It was on scene when wind ripped the roof off Hazel’s House of Hope.
“This is not something you’re taking to a car wreck on the interstate. It takes probably an hour to deploy, but it has a ton of resources when it gets there,” Weyen said. “When you need the cavalry, this is what we roll out.”
The trailer has a quick-deploy inflatable tent with a roll off HVAC unit for temperature control. It has dozens of patient beds and backboards, a 50-foot light tower, a hot water heater, a mountain of medical supplies and a command module.
“I think it is an extremely valuable piece of equipment,” Monongalia County Health Officer Dr. Lee Smith said. “While we get by pretty well with things on this end of the county because we have a lot of infrastructure, if we were to ever leave the comfort of Morgantown, Mon County is a whole lot bigger and there are still dead areas in the western end of the county. Having the ability to do radio communication and have boots on the ground is essential to the success of any operation, whether it’s flooding or any of the things we get touched by in public health.”
The issue is upkeep. Like any aging vehicle that sits unused, tires and hoses and seals and gaskets need to be replaced; medical equipment needs refreshed.
Weyen said he believes it’ll likely take about $85,000 to get the truck and trailer up to snuff. Once that is done, he said, it’ll be factored into the Mon EMS budget going forward.
He approached the Monongalia County Commission about providing those funds. The commission said it would be a willing partner in the project – emphasis on partner.
“Yeah, I think it could be of use to the citizens of this county, but it’s really most important what you guys think, whether you think it’s an important asset. Because $50,000 or $83,000 seems to be a nominal expense to have this kind asset in our region,” Commissioner Sean Sikora said, adding he would like to see the Mon EMS board of directors and others formally commit to the project. “The commission is always looking to be an equal partner. We just don’t have an unlimited check book. If there are other people reaching into their pockets, I think that’s fair.”
Weyen said he believes replacing the truck would likely cost north of $1 million, making the current ask a reasonable investment if and when the state deeds it over.
“This is one of those assets that you hope we never utilize fully, but when you need it, you need it,” he said.
