Eight new life-saving devices approved for Norfolk Fire and Rescue

NORFOLK,Neb.—Norfolk Fire and Rescue is moving forward with the purchase of life-saving equipment after approval at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The eight new devices consist of four Stryker Lifepacs which Fire Chief Tim Wragge says is their go to device. 

“Do a lot of different things for us, a lot of things pre hospital. We can do the same things that are being done in the hospital, probably not to the level of treatment that they can get in in the hospital, but we can diagnose and try to help the hospital get a better picture of what's going on with the patient before they get there,” Wragge said. 

They also will get four LUCAS 3 devices to assist in CPR while keeping patients and paramedics safe.

“They are a device that's applied to a patient that's suffered a cardiac arrest, and they actually handle the compression side of a code for us,” Wragge said. “They're very easy to store away piece of equipment, and they help keep our crew and the patient safer in the back of the ambulance.” 

The team does have these devices now but Assistant Fire Chief Trevor O’Brian says the devices do need to be updated and the new ones are more advanced. 

“Our lieutenants do a great job of keeping these things up, keeping them going for us,” O’Brian said. “The general lifespan for a service like ours is about eight years. We've had these since 2017. So we're pushing that like lifespan limit, and we're just ready to move forward with new monitors.”

These new devices and the supplies add up to just under $300,000, paid for by the city in the capital improvement plan.

O’Brian says they will put in the order Wednesday and expect to receive the devices by the end of March, then will have to undergo training.