Log in

$108K grant to fund robot for Peoria fire-medical

Posted 11/21/19

The Peoria Fire-Medical Department will receive a $108,000 grant from the Tohono O’odham Nation for the purchase of a mission critical emergency response robot, according to city officials.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

$108K grant to fund robot for Peoria fire-medical

Posted

The Peoria Fire-Medical Department will receive a $108,000 grant from the Tohono O’odham Nation for the purchase of a mission critical emergency response robot, according to city officials.

It is the department’s first technology of this kind.

The city council approved the acceptance of the grant, Nov. 12.

City Manager Jeff Tyne said this council and prior councils have worked hard to foster a relationship with the Tohono O’odham Nation, and this grant further solidifies the relationship.

“This is important safety-enhancing equipment now available to the department thanks to this grant,” he said.

The Tohono O’odham Nation uses a portion of its annual 12% local revenue-sharing contribution to be used for services that benefit the general public, such as fire and other public safety services.

The robot is remote controlled, has the ability to open doors, carry meter equipment, equipped with multiple camera options, maneuverable through rugged terrain, and can travel up to 3,300 feet from the operator.

Fire Chief Bobby Ruiz said the emergency response robot will be used for the department’s hazardous materials incident response team for deployment during hazardous incidents. The purpose of the robot is to keep members of the department out of dangerous areas, he said.

“The police department bomb squad has one. We can use ours for hazardous materials incidents, meter areas for poisonous gases and keep people out of harm’s way,” Mr. Ruiz said. “You can actually put a key on one of its arms and open a door using the cameras on it, if there are keys available. If not we would have to do it the old fashioned way.”

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.