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Custom ATV gets the done
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Monroe firefighters used their custom-made Polaris all-terrain vehicle to knock down a field fire on County P in southern Green County earlier this week. The truck, built by Davis Welding, has been such a success, the company has made variations for Brodhead and Belleville, officials said. The $17,000 vehicle was paid for with a combination of public funds, donations and grants.
MONROE - Dry, warm and windy weather - coupled with an early harvest - have made conditions ideal for brush fires, keeping area firefighters busy in local fields.

"This has been an extraordinary period," Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said. "I can't remember a time when there were more bush fires than this."

But while an outbreak of such fires can take its toll on manpower and equipment, the chief has something unique in his fire-fighting arsenal to make the job a little easier: It's a special, six-wheeled truck - custom-made from a Polaris Ranger ATV by Davis Welding of Monroe.

"It really allows us to get to areas that our other trucks just can't," the chief said.

In fact, the truck has been such a success in the field that Davis Welding has been commissioned to work on variations for Brodhead and Belleville; and is ready to make more.

The Monroe truck is a few years old but this year it's been getting an extreme workout. During a recent field fire on County P in southern Green County, the truck could be seen buzzing around hitting hot spots with ease, while the big fire trucks stood by.

Rausch said the vehicle is unique in that it can carry an EMS patient as well as a pump and 100-gallon water tank for firefighting. Commercially available variations on the truck were either dedicated to one or the other specialty, he added.

The truck could be key to a rescue on one of the many trails and remote areas of the region.

"It's designed so that the head of the patient is under the canopy," and protected from the elements during transport, said Jerry VonKaenel, who did most of the work on the truck, which the chief estimates cost about $17,000.

VonKaenel said he began the project by listening to what fire officials needed. When it was time to get started, he then removed the old plastic bed of the stock Polaris. The water pump is simply bolted on, but the rest of the truck's design and metal work came from VonKaenel and colleagues at Davis Welding.

"The whole thing we made from scratch," said VonKaenel. "We started basically with a flat diamond plate of metal."

Rausch said the truck is easily transported on a trailer and then filled by a pumper at the scene of a fire.

Funding for the truck began in part with a bequest left to the city, according to Rausch. Funds also were contributed by area townships, along with a grant from the Department of Natural Resources.

VonKaenel said most fire officials aren't aware that they can fund the purchase of the vehicles in part through available grants.

"We're absolutely ready to make more," he said. "They (firefighters) seem to be pretty happy with it."