Danbury (CT) Fire Department

We often hear from agency personnel who are interested in adding off-road capabilities to their fleet that they became aware of the usefulness of a Polaris UTV through watching a partner agency use one in the field. There is nothing like seeing a tool at work to discover how useful it can be. It was such an experience that prompted the Danbury Fire Department to look into getting a Polaris RANGER.

"Another department brought one of theirs to the search effort and we realized how useful it would be to have one of these in the department," according to Firefighter James Gagliardo of the Danbury FD. "For years we used another utility vehicle. Although this vehicle definitely helped us at times, on many incidents it wasn’t enough. We needed a more off-road capable vehicle that can handle the increase in land searches we have been called in on. That's when we decided to look into the Polaris."

The department is responsible for responding to emergencies in numerous state and local parks. Their Polaris RANGER CREW XP 1000 Northstar makes those responses more effective, reducing transportation time and making it easier for responders to reach those who need them. The vehicle is equipped with a removable patient skid, giving responders the ability to transport injured people on the vehicle and also to remove the skid when it is not needed.

In addition to aiding with remote rescues, the department also uses their RANGER to navigate through crowds at public events and in their busy downtown area. The department's HAZMAT team also uses the vehicle to transport personnel and equipment into and out of "hot zones."

According to the department's emergency responders, the heating and air conditioning package has been very important to the vehicle's successful deployment. With the occasional extreme weather conditions in the Northeast, the enclosed cab and climate control allows the department to use the vehicle in all conditions year-round.