Larimer County Dive Rescue Team Thanks Community For Bigger, Better Gear
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – When it comes to safety, bigger is better… at least for the Larimer County Dive Rescue Team. The non-profit recently purchased a new and improved truck to haul their life-saving gear.
"It's been a long time coming," Matt Jackson, a LCDRT member said. "It means we can more effectively do our job and we can do our job in a safer way."
Until a few months ago, the all-volunteer rescue team was using a 20-year-old truck and was in desperate need of a replacement. The truck they called "Old Faithful" often wouldn't start, preventing the crew from answering calls for help.
"We don't have a bunch of reserve trucks sitting around," Bruce Lobmeyer, a LCDRT member, told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann last May. "This is our only truck. The county, which helps us maintain it, is having to fix it a lot, and that's costing the taxpayer and it's costing us time."
While the team does get some funding from the county, it's not enough to cover the LCDRT's important operations and equipment.
The nonprofit relies heavily on support from the community, and with the help of donations, the team purchased a new rig.
"It's great. I love having this new rig," Lobmeyer said.
Not only will the large truck help the crew answer important calls, they can do so more efficiently.
"In the old truck, if we were out in the weather and we were trying to get dressed either in our ice suits or dive stuff, we'd be hunched over," Jackson explained. "Now we've got a lot more room in here to actually stand up."
It may seem like a small upgrade, but it's one of many that are making a big difference. Albeit it's one that came at much higher price than the LCDRT was expecting.
"We thought [the new truck] was going to be about $50,000," Lobmeyer said. "Turns out it was about $65,000."
The dive team dipped into their reserve funds to help cover the unexpected price difference, but they're hoping to get more of Colorado's support. Support, member said, they couldn't be more grateful to have in order to make their missions possible.
"We couldn't have done it without the community," Lobmeyer added.