The Barrington Fire Department is hoping a new off-road vehicle will help increase the success rate for emergencies that take place in remote sections of town. 

Barrington Fire Chief Gerald Bessette spoke to the Town Council at the Feb. 5 meeting and described one recent incident that occurred at a hard-to-reach section of coastline. Chief Bessette said first responders had to take turns carrying a victim on a stretcher from the beach to the nearest emergency vehicle. The emergency call took more than two hours.

Chief Bessette said a new UTV or utility terrain vehicle would address this issue. 

During the Feb. 5 meeting, Chief Bessette requested the Council approve the use of national opioid litigation settlement money to purchase the off-road vehicle. He said the UTV and a trailer would cost a total of $40,878. 

Denise Alves, the Barrington Prevention Coalition Director, said she supported the expenditure. She explained some of the requirements in place for using money from the Opioid Abatement Fund. In a memo to the Council, Alves wrote that the UTV purchase falls within a set of guiding principles. For starters, the money will be used to save lives. Another guiding principle was to use evidence to guide spending.

“Chief Bessette and Captain (Scott) Carroll have done their due diligence in visiting with and communicating with other similar coastal communities that have this equipment,” Alves wrote. “They have also done the necessary work to establish pricing.

“This equipment has not been in the fire/rescue budget. After reviewing the guiding principles for the Opioid Abatement Fund, I believe that this equipment needed by fire/rescue fits into each of the guiding principles and is needed in our community.”

Chief Bessette wrote a memo to Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey explaining why the department needs a UTV. 

“The Town Beach, other trails and pathways in town are examples where the Fire Department in the past has been forced to physically carry a victim over long distances because of the inability of the department to get a transport vehicle close to the victim’s location,” he wrote. 

“The department has been searching for funding to purchase a utility terrain vehicle for some time. The most recent emergency call on the beach was an opioid-related event that appears to have opened a source of funding…”

Chief Bessette said Capt. Carroll has led the charge to bring a UTV to the Barrington Fire Department, and worked hard researching what type of vehicle would work best for Barrington. The department settled on a Polaris Ranger XP 1000. The vehicle, combined with the necessary accessories and lighting, costs about $29,000. The department will also use the opioid abatement fund money to purchase a trailer. 

Chief Bessette said there is a skid attached to the back of the UTV that will carry stretchered victims. He said the vehicle would be towed to the emergencies; it will not be driven on local roads.

At the Feb. 5 meeting, Barrington Town Council President Carl Kustell said that during an emergency every second counts. Council member Rob Humm made a motion to approve the purchase, and Annelise Conway seconded it. The motion passed 4-0. 

According to a memo from the Town Manager, the town had a balance of $241,000 in the opioid abatement fund prior to the purchase of the UTV. 

Hervey wrote that the town “will be receiving additional annual payments from various settlement agreements through at least 2038, totaling between $23,000 to $32,000 each year. We are working on a plan for spending this funding to present to the Council at a future meeting.”