OXFORD — New stretchers and chairs at Oxford Fire and Rescue could save employees’ backs and help get injured and sick people out of tight spots.
The department recently received three hydraulic stretchers and three “stair chairs,” which use a conveyor belt to allow responders to glide people down stairs rather than carrying them in wheelchairs.
“It lets us get people out of their homes or tight quarters without having to do a lot of lifting,” Capt. Patty Hesse said.
She said the chair can be useful on bleachers, such as at Oxford Plains Speedway.
The stretchers cost $10,000 each and the chairs each cost $2,600, Chief Scott Hunter said. Thanks to an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, however, the town had only to pay 5 percent of the total cost.
The stretchers are battery-powered, and can lift someone from the floor high enough to roll them into an ambulance. The hydraulic lift can lift up to 700 pounds.
“Any time you lift someone on a stretcher, there’s a potential for a back injury,” Hunter said. He said workers’ compensation for back injuries would cost the town around $16,000.
The department has a chair and a stretcher in each of its three trucks.
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