Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) has welcomed two anticipated, state-of-the-art heavy rescue vehicles. This purchase is a significant milestone for MFES as it marks the first time it has acquired heavy rescue vehicles of this calibre. It also marks a notable advancement in the City’s commitment to ensuring the highest level of safety measures and preparedness for its residents and neighbourhoods.

“These new heavy rescue vehicles represent a substantial investment in the safety and well-being of our community,” said Deryn Rizzi, Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management. “They are integral to our mission of providing prompt and effective emergency response services, ensuring that our highly skilled firefighters have the necessary resources to handle complex and challenging situations efficiently.”
There’s also an electric fire truck coming this summer, as we covered in late November, 2023.

What is a heavy rescue vehicle?

Heavy rescue vehicles provide Mississauga’s highly skilled and trained firefighters with state-of-the-art resources to efficiently respond to challenging and complex situations. They are uniquely designed to carry specialized equipment used for complex emergency scenarios such as:

Light and heavy vehicle collisions
Trench rescues
High and low angle rope rescues
Confined space rescues
Industrial, machine and elevator accidents
Structural fires
Medical emergencies

Heavy rescue vehicle features

In addition to firefighting gear, these heavy rescue vehicles are equipped with a variety of technical rescue tools, including:

Battery-powered hydraulic extrication tools
Stabilizing struts used to provide structural shoring and vehicle stabilization
Rope rescue devices
Confined space equipment
Trench rescue tools
Rigging hardware
Machinery and elevator rescue tools, among many others

The heavy rescue vehicles will be strategically deployed across Mississauga to maximize coverage and improve response times, further enhancing MFES’s ability to protect lives and property. These new vehicles will also provide support for emergencies such as structure fires, atmospheric testing, medical crises, and motor vehicle collisions.

Technical specifications of the heavy rescue vehicle

Make: Pierce Manufacturing, Appleton WI

Cab: Five passenger, extended cab with interior storage cabinets

Body:

24’ Walk-in Rescue, 78” interior height
Fixed front bumper 12,000 lb winch & 9,000 lb mobile winch – To assist with the pulling and stabilizing of vehicles.
Eight rope rescue anchor points – This assists with both low and high angle rope rescue manoeuvers.
Onan 25kW PTO driven on-board generator – This will provide auxiliary electrical power for various on-board tools and equipment.
200’ electric and air hose reels.
Will-Burt Night Scan Chief Roof Mounted LED Light Tower – This provides lighting at night, during emergencies.
Atlas-Copco 16.7 CFM @175 psi on-board air compressor – This provides compressed air for pneumatic tools and equipment.

With this addition, the MFES fleet now consists of 17 Pumpers, eight Aerials, four Squads, two Heavy Rescues, one electric-powered Pumper (due to arrive in August 2024) and several other support vehicles including a Hazardous Response Vehicle, Air Rehab Unit, Command Post and three District Chief Command vehicles.