Swaledale Mountain Rescue hoping to raise £80,000 for new vehicle
It's to buy a new Incident Command Vehicle which is needed to replace aging and unreliable equipment.
Last updated 14th Nov 2020
Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team is fundraising for a new Incident Command Vehicle which is urgently needed to replace their aging and unreliable equipment.
To buy the Volkswagen Transporter long wheelbase van and cover the conversation costs, the team need to raise £80,000 in donations from the public.
Swaledale MRT is a 100% volunteer-run charity which exists to save life and limb in the northern part of the Yorkshire Dales.
The team is on call to use their unique skills, techniques and equipment to rescue injured members of the public, assist the police with missing person searches and support the ambulance service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Adam Bailey is a volunteer for the service, he said: "The vehicle is purpose built for this. It's a communication hub and carries a lot of equipment, but it's also an opportunity for team members to be able to refresh themselves in a safe and warmer environment.
"Currently we've got a very run down old trailer so one of the poor members of the team will have to sit in it and be freezing while they manage the incident.
"Just being able to get out to a call out and get going straight away is vital. We don't want to be faffing about trying to get the trailer sorted. We can roll up to an incident and ensure we can help people who are lost or hurt as quickly as we can."
An Incident Command Vehicle is a specially converted vehicle that operates alongside the team's existing 4WD ambulance fleet and provides a crucial part of their ability to provide vital 24/7 rescue service.
It acts as their communications and IT hub and liaison point with other emergency services.
It also has built in welfare facilities for team members responding to to long-duration incidents and carries additional emergency equipment for specialist rescues.
Long search and rescue events can sometimes go on for multiple days, during which the Incident Controllers have to safely manage, and look after, many teams of rescuers who are operating over a wide geographical area in extremely challenging conditions.
The vehicle then needs a comprehensive internal fit-out that includes seating, refreshment facilities for rescuers (recognising that the response to a major incident sometimes goes on for several days), communications and IT equipment, ability to connect to power or a generator, safety equipment and secure storage.
The exterior of the vehicle has to go through the full ’emergency services’ treatment, which includes blue lights & siren, and high-visibility livery.
This is a bespoke conversion that needs to ‘just work’, every time, without fail. The team have therefore worked with several different specialist suppliers and converters of emergency vehicles to compare quotes, and have selected a competitive supplier with an excellent reputation for doing high-reliability emergency-vehicle conversions.
Further information is available on the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team website. Or contact them at: appeal@swaledalemrt.org.uk.