Isuzu trucks on the front line

Among the essential services provided by the Tasmanian State Emergency Services (SES) is vital front-line assistance at approximately 400 road crash incidents across the island state each year.

SES Regional Officer (North West), Anthony Dick, said his volunteer teams are often one of the first emergency services to respond to road crash call-outs, providing stabilisation of vehicles and time-critical extrication of crash victims.

"In all serious motor vehicle accidents, it’s often difficult to get access to the patient, so we’re on hand to cut the car away from accident victims to ensure they get urgent medical attention as safely, and as quickly as possible,” Anthony said.

To ensure the SES teams can respond effectively to a range of crash situations, each crew arrives on site with a fully-kitted out rescue truck carrying 800-900kg of rescue equipment.

"Our trucks carry our tools of the trade, and without them we couldn’t do our job – it’s the most important part of our vehicle fleet," Anthony said.

"On each truck is a rescue module filled with a wide range of our equipment – from hand tools, tarps, chainsaws and stretchers through to large specialised hydraulic rescue equipment such as a telescopic ram and cutters and spreaders."

As part of a regular vehicle replacement programme, the SES recently welcomed an Isuzu NPR 300 and NPR 400 Medium Crew Cab to the rescue fleet, designated for transporting crews and emergency gear to crash sites in the King Island and Central Coast area.

"Our vehicle replacement programme ensures we’ve got a fleet of modern, reliable vehicles that maintain their value, have minimum maintenance costs and that are comfortable and safe for our operators," Anthony said.

Anthony said Isuzu trucks were always front of mind when looking for new vehicles that offered safety, crew comfort and the reliability needed when lives are on the line.

"We’ve had two older model Isuzu trucks in our for fleet for some time – close to 20 years – and they’ve always given us good service and we’ve certainly got our money back with what they’ve provided us."

When selecting their new Isuzu, the SES was looking for a light-duty truck that could be easily modified to carry an existing SES rescue module.

"The boys from Webster Trucks Isuzu came to measure the module for us and were extremely helpful in finding us a vehicle that suited our module and application.

“For our first truck we decided on the NPR 300 Medium which has since proved extremely cost effective for us as well, which is fantastic."

Following the successful integration of the SES rescue module with the NPR 300, the SES opted for another Isuzu in early 2014, settling on a NPR 400 for the Tasmanian Central Coast Unit.

Anthony said the SES has been extremely impressed with the modern, car-like comfort of the two new Isuzu trucks, and benchmark safety features which include the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Anti-Skid Regulator (ASR).

The introduction of the Isuzu dual cab has also allowed Anthony’s teams more time to plan together en-route to an incident.

"For the first time, the team can now all travel together to the sites, and team leaders can use that opportunity to gather information about the situation they’re heading to and formulate a plan for when they arrive at the crash," Anthony said.

"Without the contribution of the Tasmanian SES at a road crash incident, there’d be cases where paramedics wouldn’t be able to get into the patient and get them to hospital for the urgent care they need," Anthony said.

"I think that’s what the volunteer spirit is all about, helping other people in your community when they’re having what could be the worst day of their lives and trying to get them back on track."