Fiscal Court Approves Purchase of New Jaws of Life Vehicle

Darren Doyle, story:
Magistrates voted to approve the purchase of a new vehicle that will house and transport the county's Jaws of Life apparatus, which is overseen and operated by Kyrock Volunteer Fire Department, and contracted by the county government.

In yesterday's Edmonson County Fiscal Court meeting, the court voted to award the bid to one of two sealed bids received for the vehicle project, which was Paul Miller Commercial Vehicle Center, according to County Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey.

Their bid was in the amount of $91,009.48; however, Judge Lindsey said the build for the vehicle was quoted with a timeline of a five-month build and the county needed it sooner than that.

"While we were discussing and trying to make the best decision, it was found that Paul Miller Commercial Vehicle Center had gained access to a vehicle that met the criteria for the Jaws of Life vehicle, and it was available almost immediately," he said. "The price for this vehicle was $97,669, but was available now, instead of a five-month lead time. We felt that although it was a little more cost, it was worth the added expense to procure the vehicle now instead of having to wait for the five-month build time."

Kyrock is the contracted Jaws of Life for the County, per Resolution 21-26 signed in 2021 and is a 5 year contract that runs through 11/22/2026. Judge Lindsey provided the Edmonson Voice with the language of the resolution, which states:  

OBLIGATIONS OF PARTIES
a.) County. The County shall provide a truck and maintain same for the transport of Jaws, and shall be responsible for any damages to Jaws.
b.) KVFD. KVFD shall provide for the storage of said truck at the KVFD firehouse and trained manpower to staff the truck. KVFD agrees to a certain extrication agreement with Edmonson County EMS. Said storage and extrication service shall be at no charge to the County or any person.

When emergency calls are received for local vehicle accidents, Jaws is also paged in cases of entrapment, or if the matter of entrapment is unknown, no matter from what district the call originates. Kyrock responds with Jaws in all areas of the county. While many times they are dismissed before they arrive at an emergency scene, they must always be ready to respond 24/7, on top of their regular fire department calls.

The new truck will reportedly be equipped with everything needed to better handle and transport Jaws equipment in case of local emergency.