The Brea Fire Department recently worked with local Brea business partners Bridge Energy and FlexFit, to procure a light, off highway, utility terrain vehicle (UTV). These vehicles are often times considered a recreational off highway vehicle and come in a multitude of different styles, configurations and platforms. The end result, for our purposes, is a modified vehicle capable of effectively responding to off-road emergencies for a multitude of reasons such as:
· off road medical emergencies
· fire pre-planning and reconnaissance
· fire fuel mitigation
· equipment hauling to off road training and emergency scenes
· heavy rescue operations
· patient packaging and hauling to waiting road ambulances
· large incident overhaul logistics
Overall, our Fire Department personnel are responsible for 2,000+ acres of wildland/urban interface between the areas of Tonner, Carbon and Brea canyons. These areas are heavily used for industry and recreation alike, creating significant demand for life and property protection. Combined with our exhaustive training and performance standards, the tools at
our disposal are often what it takes to not only mitigate an emergency faster, but to do so
with least amount of risk to personnel.
Regardless of location, terrain, or other obstacles, our desire is to respond to the need without delay. This vehicle would offer the advantages of a smaller, less expensive, more mobile and more versatile means of response, compared to our larger fire apparatus. As a result, the Brea Fire Department received a very generous donation of $17,000 from the above listed partners. With the specialty mission that these vehicles serve, it is imperative to seek specifications relevant to both the geography of the area and the exact needs of the department. There is opportunity to buy a stock vehicle and modify it ourselves, however,
this would likely result in significant time delay and increased costs. It is the intent of the Brea Fire Department to implement this asset prior to the 2018 fire season and busy summer recreational months.
It was deemed better suited to seek out one of the few companies who produced a prebuilt UTV for fire/rescue purposes. In doing so, there was one local company who met this need. They are a direct dealer for the base Can-Am platform allowing them to meet all warranty and factory repair needs through the life of the vehicle. Their repair facility is located in
Orange, CA. Their patient transport system allows us to do so without reducing seating capacity and cargo space. They have a patented wheel and tire system to prevent flat tire scenarios during response. Lastly, their front rack system on the vehicle allows for more storage space and front end protection than other manufacturers in the price point. It is for
these reasons that we would like ATV Corporation to serve as the sole provider for this vehicle. Seeking out three formal bids would likely result in an extended timeline and a non-local manufacturer unable to meet our mission specifics.
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