Firefighters get mass casualty trailer and hope never to use it

DINGMAN - “We’ll be able to service as many as 100 victims if a mass casualty situation should happen in Pike,” said Dingman Township Fire Chief Bill Mikulak. The 20-foot-long, 8-foot-wide, and 8-foot-high unit, which has not been “shelved out” or stocked with supplies, will be operated by the Dingman Township Fire Department. “This is something that if needed will be of great importance. The township is growing at a rapid pace and if a major incident takes place, we’ll be ready for it,” Township Supervisor Tom Mincer remarked. “The mass casualty trailer cost was approximately $7,500 empty and it will take another $20,000 to equip and stock it with supplies,” Mikulak told the Courier. “It was picked up just before the last snowstorm hit us and it still has to be lettered, which is being done by one of our department members,” said Mikulak. Both Luzerne and Lackawanna counties have similar emergency units. The Dingman Township Fire House has no available indoor space so it is going to be kept under a carport, to be constructed in the near future. The emergency unit will contain supplies from bandages, neck collars, back boards, cold packs, and even have cadaver bags. “The trailer was manufactured by Car Mate of Pennsylvania and was donated by the ‘Seven County Task Force,’ Mikulak told the Courier. The seven counties are Pike, Wayne, Wyoming, Luzerne, Monroe, Susquehanna, and Lackawanna, which received grant money from the Federal Office of Homeland Security. Asked if the township would be able to support the fire department financially in their need for funding to purchase supplies, Mincer told Mikulak to make up a list of what is needed and submit it to the supervisors for review. Mikulak said the emergency casualty trailer could be a “stand-by” piece of apparatus on special days such as “Pike County Days” or other heavily visited events. As far as other emergencies are concerned, he went on to say, “I hope we never have to use it but if the situation comes up we’ll be prepared to respond.” In unrelated business, the supervisors reported that U.S. Representative Chris Carney plans to hold monthly constituent meetings in Pike. The first-ever such local service provided by a member of Congress will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Pike County Administration Building on the first Thursday of every month.