The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department became involved in rescue and emergency care over the years by virtue of their normal firefighting duties and being called to the scene of traffic accidents and drownings to free and recover victims. The quality of care provided and methods used have improved drastically over the years as advances were made in both medical science and rescue methods and tool technology. Currently, the fire department regularly acts as first responders to assist Titus Regional Medical Center ambulances with medical emergencies. They also provide rescue services at traffic, industrial, farm, and other accidents, perform rescue and recovery services at water accidents and drownings, and perform other rescue services as required.
Fire Department instructors began teaching members artificial respiration (the fore-runner to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) in early 1931 so they could help anyone overcome by smoke or fumes. From then forward, firemen received regular first aid and artificial respiration training as part of their normal drills so they could help each other and victims at a fire scene in case of an injury when medical aid might be far away.
According to R. L. Jurney, the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department bought a boat for emergency and rescue use in 1958. Volunteer Fire Department minutes contain only one entry for the entire year of 1958, so we cannot document the purchase, but feel certain that Mr. Jurney is correct.
In the mid-1960s', the fire department still owned the v-hull fishing boat, motor, and trailer and had constructed a set of body drags to use to recover drowning victims. The drag is an A-shaped metal frame that is pulled behind or beside a boat by a rope. The frame, which has large hooks attached to it, drags along the lake bed. The hooks snag the victim's clothing (and sometimes old tires, limbs, and other debris) which can be felt by the person holding the rope. When the person holding the drag feels it hook something, the drag is raised to the surface and the body (or old tire) recovered.
Because it was sometimes necessary to dive, the fire department also owned (although I don't know of it being used over a few times) a hand-operated air pump connected by a hose to a dome-shaped diving helmet.
On Sunday, January 4, 1959, the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department responded to one of the largest fires in its history until that time when Mt. Pleasant Motors, located at 404 N. Jefferson, and a vacant building adjoining it were destroyed by fire. Firemen battled the blaze in blistering 8-degree weather, which froze hoses to the ground and glazed the surrounding area with a coat of ice. Volunteer firemen Hubert Hardy and Vernon Bailey were overcome by fumes, but were revived at the scene. Volunteer Tom B. Coker suffered a bruised hip in a fall, and several others sustained bruises in falls on the ice-slicked area.
The Fire Department must have begun building its first Rescue Unit immediately after the Mt. Pleasant Motors fire. The January 8, 1959 Mt. Pleasant Daily Times reported that the Volunteer Fire Department used funds raised at their annual turkey shoot to purchase a 1954 Chevrolet panel truck to equip as a Rescue Unit. Volunteer firemen equipped the "new" panel truck with first aid supplies, a resuscitator, extra fire hose, and other fire fighting equipment, and installed a trailer hitch to pull the department's rescue boat.
On January 6, 1959, Chief O. C. Falls and Tom B. Coker met with the City Council to request that the City purchase "three 6-ply tires for a panel truck which the department bought to carry their equipment," which the Council did by unanimous vote. On June 4, 1959, the Volunteer Fire Department appointed a committee to go to Texarkana to purchase a two-way radio for the rescue unit.
The purchase of the 1954 panel truck marked the Department's first entry into Fire-Rescue. The truck was equipped with first aid equipment, and primarily functioned to provide fist aid to injured firemen and transport them or others to the hospital if needed. The unit contained a decent first aid kit for the day, oxygen bottles and mask, and the resuscitator. An oxygen system simply supplies medical oxygen from a pressurized bottle, which flows gently into a mask placed over the patient's nose and mouth to provide an oxygen-enriched environment to aid a patient who can breathe under their own control. The resuscitator forced oxygen under higher pressure through a mask placed over the patient's nose and mouth into the lungs, whether or not the patient was currently breathing on their own. The early rescue unit also contained a gurney for the patient to lie on if needed.
As years went by and rescue methods improved, the Fire Department regularly upgraded their rescue equipment and the trucks that carried it. The 1954 unit was replaced in about 1963 or 1964 with another Chevrolet panel truck. Training of volunteer firefighters in emergency first aid and rescue procedures was increased.
The Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department upgraded their Rescue Unit again in 1976 with the purchase of a ¾ ton Chevrolet van. This van was much more elaborately equipped than its predecessors. A committee of firemen custom-designed modifications for the van to specifically equip it as a rescue vehicle with an interior design similar to ambulances of the day before the unit was put into service.
A side window was installed in the sliding door to provide the driver with a better view of oncoming traffic when entering an angled intersection. New updated emergency warning lights and siren were added. Roof-mounted quartz halogen flood lights were installed to illuminate night time accident scenes on either side or the rear of the vehicle and provide working light for other uses. Fog lights were installed on the front of the truck. The word "RESCUE" was painted in reverse across the hood so it would show in a driver's rear view mirror as the unit approached traffic. An auxiliary battery and charging circuit was added to power the added electrical equipment. A circuit was designed and installed to permit using the second battery to boost the original equipment battery to crank the engine without having to connect jumper cables should the need arise. Receptacles were added to the outside of the vehicle to provide 12 volt power so extension cords could be connected to the truck and run to the work area. Wiring and several different connectors were added to permit pulling a trailer with any one of several common trailer connectors. The spare tire was moved from the inside of the vehicle to an exterior door-mounted bracket on the back door to provide more usable space inside.
The inside was highly modified, too. All of the additional switches required to operate the added emergency equipment were installed on the ceiling above the console, rather than scattered all over the dash was the case before. The small factory-installed dome lights were supplemented by larger and brighter lights designed for ambulance use to provide ample working light. Switches were added so the lights came on when the back and side doors were opened, or they could be kept on while driving. A raised floor was installed to allow sliding backboards under the floor surface so they would be out of the way. The factory-installed spare tire, which was originally mounted inside the truck near the rear door, was moved outside to provide more room for seating and equipment. Bench seating was designed for the front and left side of the unit to allow several firemen to ride in it when traveling to fire schools or other activities. The seats were designed as long boxes with upholstered seat tops that could be raised and items stored in the bottom of the seats. A row of cabinets with clear Plexiglas sliding doors was installed on the right side of the interior to hold first aid supplies. The gurney was attached below the cabinets. A fire extinguisher was added just inside the back door within easy reach.
This vehicle was as large an advancement from the previous two vehicles as it is behind today's crash trucks.
