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International Profit Associates Donates Money For Equipment To Local Fire Department

International Profit Associates (IPA-IBA) recently made a substantial donation that will be used toward extrication equipment for to the Long Grove Fire Protection District (LGFPD). The equipment is used to extricate victims that have been trapped in vehicles following collisions and other situations where victims need to be removed from equipment or wreckage.

The equipment purchased with the donation was extrication equipment commonly known as "the Jaws of Life." According to the LGFPD, it is important in an entrapment situation to remove wreckage or equipment from around a victim instead of trying to maneuver the victim out of it. Maneuvering someone can worsen an injury, precipitate a fatality or loss of limb by exacerbating a victims’ condition. Vehicles and industrial equipment are completely different today than even 10 years ago. Stronger, exotic metals and new engineering techniques are used making extrication much more difficult. To provide victims with the best level of service it is vital to keep up with the advances in technology. Older tools are not strong enough both in force and metallurgy to be effective with new equipment that is encountered.

In late 2005, the Long Grove Fire Protection District took delivery of the new Pumper Squad. In the fire service, a squad is responsible for rescue tasks such as extrication. With the new squad, extrication equipment made by Holmatro was purchased and created a massive burden on their small operating budget.

"The International Profit Associates donation is extremely generous, companies like them are few and far between and the generosity will impact many people over the years by saving lives and limiting the severity of injuries," said Lieutenant Mark Gates of the LGFPD. "The new extrication tools will be invaluable to us when we need to extricate a victim. We will be able to operate more efficiently with greater speed and safety both for us and our victims."

All the tools are used together to remove wreckage from around a patient and make openings larger to properly package and remove an entrapped victim without causing further harm to the patient. When used by trained hands, extrication tools can reduce a full sized auto to pieces in five to thirty minutes or more depending on the amount of damage and location or condition of the patient.

The Long Grove Fire Protection District was established in 1929 as a volunteer organization until 1990 when it introduced full-time firefighter paramedics combined with paid-on-call staff to meet personnel needs. In 1999, the LGFPD expanded its staff to five firefighters for each 24-hour shift with at least three state certified paramedics. The current full time staff of 16 is supplemented with paid-on-call staff of 15. The department has been seeking alternative funding to accommodate the increased demands on the fire service as a whole. The department has recently received federal and state grants for large scale projects.