New rescue sleigh will save lives in western Newfoundland, snowmobilers say
It took only eight weeks but a community fundraising effort in western Newfoundland has resulted in a huge leap in search and rescue equipment for an area where outback snowmobiling and sports are popular.
Members of the Western Sno-Riders, a west coast snowmobiling club, met earlier this week with members of Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue to donate a new rescue sleigh to the group.
Sno-Riders president Glenn Green said the group raised $15,000 in two months to make the sleigh a reality.
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"We felt it was a much needed piece of equipment," Green said. "We started to realize that the rescue sleigh we had was not appropriate for top-notch patient care."
The new sleigh, called the Equinox Snowbulance Deluxe, features enough seating space for a stretcher and a medical attendant.
The sleigh attaches to the back of a snowmobile, and has an enclosed back to keep people out of the elements. It also features built0in heaters and USB connectors that allow electronics to stay charged.
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The sleigh's blades can also be swapped out for tires, allowing for all-season use.
"It's really a life-saver. Because this will help people, you know, from all over," said Shawn Street, the co-ordinator for Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue.
"This here is 150 per cent better than what we could do before. So we can help the person a lot better, we can stabilize the person a lot better. We can cut down on all their injuries, because this here is a way more comfortable ride...This is going to be a really big thing for us."
Street said the sleighs are usually required around five times a season, but being able to use it year-round will be a game changer for search and rescue missions.
Alan MacDonald of Massey Drive was injured in a snowmobile accident in January, and had to be rescued using an old rescue sleigh. He says it was a cold and bumpy experience. (Alex Kennedy/CBC)
Green said much of the inspiration for putting the fundraising together came from a conversation he had earlier in the year with Alan MacDonald of Massey Drive.
During a trip in January, MacDonald hit a bump and was thrown off his snowmobile, breaking vertebrae in his back and neck, along with four ribs and a collarbone.
He was rescued 16 kilometres away from the Trans-Canada Highway by members of the volunteer search and rescue team, who kept him immobilized and stable as they placed him in their old open-air rescue sleigh.
The new sleigh is a big upgrade over the old one, he said Tuesday night.
"Coming out in the [old] sleigh itself was pretty rough. It was pretty bumpy, it was really cold. I had been on the snow for few hours at the time, so I was really cold. On the verge of hypothermia, I'm assuming," MacDonald said.
"Just to know that somebody's not going to go through what I went through is just heartwarming. For the community to come together so quickly, eight weeks to raise the money to purchase this sleigh. It just fills me with joy."
Thumbnail courtesy of Alex Kennedy/CBC.
The story was originally written by Alex Kennedy and published for CBC News.