16-03-2025
Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department demonstrates life saving equipment
CHEAT LAKE, (WBOY) — The Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department got to show off some new life saving equipment on Saturday by hosting a demonstration.
The Cheat Lake Rotary Club donated $40,000 worth of Genesis Rescue Tools, including 'cutters', 'spreaders', and 'rams'. These are tools the fire department uses to get people out of dangerous situations, such as if after an accident, someone is trapped in a car and injured. The Cheat Lake Fire Department has had these new tools for about a year, and say that because they are battery operated tools, they are a major time saving upgrade when compared to the gas power tools they had before.
The Cheat Lake Rotary Club raised the money for the tools at their signature fundraising event 'Uncorked at the Garden'. Assistant Chief at Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department Eric Tennant oversaw the deployment of the tools after the fire department received them about a year ago.
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'Accidents where second count, these tools are shaving not just seconds but minutes off our response time,' Tennant said. 'It's a pick up and go tool rather than a pick up, set up, and now let's figure out what we're doing and now cut.'
Another benefit Tennant brought up another benefit that showed itself early into getting the tools. For instance, the same day Cheat Lake VFD received their set of Genesis Rescue Tools, they assisted Brookhaven Fire Volunteer Department with a car accident and removed four people from the vehicle. It turned out Brookhaven uses the same set of tools, and Tennant thinks that having the same set of tools as neighboring fire departments will make working together easier.
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