Eclipse spurs Maumelle to invest $174,000 in rescue gear
MAUMELLE, Ark. – The Maumelle Police and Fire Departments now can travel on two wheels when responding to emergencies or patrolling events.
The recent addition of seven electric bicycles, two ATVs, and first aid equipment was necessary authorities say for the upcoming total solar eclipse and the unknown amount of people who could travel to the city for it.
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Why bicycles or ATVs? With a $174,000 price tag, it’s a question you could ask the Maumelle Fire and Police Departments. When you’re built with 27 miles of pedestrian trails, it starts to make more sense.
“A lot of people jog, ride bikes, and they are not necessarily easy to get to with a large vehicle,” Maumelle PD Captain Shannon Giompoletti explained.
The want for a more agile response became a perceived necessity when Maumelle started planning for the eclipse last Summer.
“We started looking into adding some of this equipment before the eclipse, but this is kind of what spurred us to put it into action,” Giompoletti added.
The first thought of first responders was how they access patients if there’s thick traffic and a considerable crowd. The four-day festival of events planned in Maumelle starts Friday, April 5. It will include daily live music, food trucks, a family-friendly kiddie zone and more.
“We have to plan like the city is going to have probably double the population that it normally has, and with that, you’re going to have more people and more potential for bad things to happen,” Maumelle Fire Department Chief Beau Buford said.
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Joan Reed has called Maumelle home for 22 years and said eclipse or not, it’s about time.
“If that’s what it took, definitely you know once the eclipse is over, they’ll still have that equipment, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of use for it,” Reed said.
The city will be using the investment for future events but also as a means to community police as long as an emergency isn’t eclipsing their attention.
“I think it will make us a lot more approachable, and I think it will help us get in and out of areas a lot better,” Giompoletti concluded.
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More information on Maumelle’s eclipse events can be found on the city’s website.
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