Muskoka Paramedic Services (MPS) made the short trip from its base Taylor Rd. to the District of Muskoka’s office on Pine St. to show off its new remote response vehicle (RRV) before Tuesday’s council meeting.
Nilan Shah, who owns the Firehouse Subs restaurants in Orillia and Barrie, was one of the handful of people who were admiring the RRV. He says he’s proud to be able to support first responders. “It’s in our DNA,” he says, explaining how the restaurant chain’s Public Safety Foundation supports various local first responder organizations.
“It makes us feel so proud to know we’ve supported something that has immediate impact in our community,” says Shah.
He boasts that in the last 12 months, over $120,000 has been invested through the foundation in Muskoka, Orillia, and Barrie, including recent donations to the fire departments in Muskoka Lakes and Gravenhurst.
Stuart McKinnon, deputy chief for MPS, says Firehouse Subs contributed $42,000 for the RRV, which allowed them to buy a canopy to keep bugs away, a trailer to transport the RRV to where it’s needed, and specialized tracks so it can be driven in the winter.
“We’re trying to look at any area of Muskoka where an ambulance is not going to fit and where we might be putting our paramedics at risk if they try to respond on foot,” explains McKinnon.
He says the RRV has enough room in the back for equipment, a paramedic, and a patient. McKinnon jokes it’s a John Deere Gator at heart, but MPS enlisted Rowland Emergency Vehicle Products Inc., based in Toronto, Ont., to retrofit it and make it like a mini ambulance.
McKinnon told district council in Feb. 2024 the idea for the RRV came about after the major flooding Muskoka dealt with in 2019.
He shares his appreciation for district council approving the purchase and for Firehouse Subs for helping to make it possible.
McKinnon says MPS now has 16 ambulances and a handful of vehicles for the Community Paramedicine program and for administration.
“The fleet is growing and so is our capability,” says McKinnon.