By Lorraine Jewett | Special to The Unions
Stewards of Tax Dollars, as well as firefighting heroes. NevCo Consolidated Fire District now uses a special truck to respond to medical calls rather than rolling out large fire engines. “We purchased an all-inclusive 4WD Ford F550 that carries 150 gallons of water, medical equipment, plus extrication and technical rescue equipment,” says Chief Jim Turner. “Since 80% of calls are medical responses, the new Rescue is more cost effective than a fire engine. An engine costs $4.25 per mile in fuel and wear and tear, and the Ford costs about half that; just $82 in fuel last month. A new fire engine runs about $700,000 and we spent $285,000 on the new truck.” The Ford, named Rescue 84 because it’s stationed at Station 84, also allows a quicker response and is more maneuverable than a fire engine…