The Hageman family was very excited to see the fruits of their efforts, turning what could have been a tragic accident into much-needed support for area fire departments. More photos inside, page 5. (submitted photo)
By Kate Klimesh,
The Hageman family was very excited to see the fruits of their efforts, turning what could have been a tragic accident into much-needed support for area fire departments. More photos inside, page 5. (submitted photo)
A tractor accident last fall that saw the rescue of Ossian’s Kyle Hageman from a turnover on Clay Hill Road turned into a mission for his family to support area fire departments. Their fundraiser to make good of a bad situation raised $60,000 for much-needed rescue equipment to ensure the county’s emergency personnel have the tools they need to ensure better outcomes from what could be tragic accidents.
In January, Decorah Fire Department Chief Mike Ashbacher ordered the Paratech equipment needed. Together with the funds from the Hageman Family’s efforts, funds from the Decorah Rural Fire Protective association fundraisers and funds from the annual Winneshiek County Firefighters Association Bull Bash, the department was able to acquire $78,000 in new, life-saving equipment.
With a truck and trailer in tow at the end of August, members of the fire department traveled to Frankfort, Ill., just 30 miles southwest of Chicago, to pick up the equipment ordered.
“We had wanted to get this equipment since right after Kyle’s accident last fall, when we knew we didn’t have the equipment we truly needed but had the best possible outcome using what we had. We had people in a bad, dangerous spot, but we knew there was an opportunity to get better equipment,” stated Ashbacher.
Three members attended a training last year and had the opportunity to train with heavy duty Paratech structural support rescue equipment.
Ashbacher recalled, “At that time, they had noted it would be a great tool for structural collapse situations and heavy equipment accident rescue, but we didn’t have a lot of structure collapse calls – until the following week after they returned, we got a call for a partial structure collapse. And then the tractor/trailer accident.”
“We have a building full of equipment we hope to never have to use,” Ashbacher continued. “But, we do have to use it, and it’s so good to have it in-house now. The Hagemans were instrumental in getting this funding for us and in this equipment coming to fruition.”
Equipment
Ashbacher explained the equipment doesn’t just do one job, but has many attachments and can be useful in many situations: grain elevator rescues, tractor and heavy vehicle rollovers, semi accidents, construction equipment accidents, structural support for building collapse, trench collapse and much more. The columns use air pressure to raise up heavy objects, with locking collars to create stability in unstable circumstances for rescues, or to create stable rigging to help move firemen into position for rescues in tight places.
The equipment they used for the Hageman rescue supports 5,000 pounds. The new equipment can support up to 80,000 pounds and has been proven to withstand the force of a high-rise building crashing on top of it without failure. And the equipment will bolster all area fire departments’ capabilities, as it will be easily transportable upon request of mutual aid.
“There’s still a lot of training for the guys to do on the new equipment,” Ashbacher added, noting a representative would be coming in October to show the full capacity of the new equipment, whether monopod or bipod usage, in many different scenarios.
Ashbacher stated, “We are fortunate to have such great community support to help us acquire this. It’s the same equipment FEMA uses, top-of-the-line. Again, we hope we never have to use it, but this will help us make sure any future incidents or accidents can have a better chance of being one of the good stories, like Kyle’s.”
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