Specialized rescue vehicle rolls into Ventura County thanks to donation

Staff reports
·2 min read
The County of Ventura received a $350,000 Lenco Armored Rescue Medevac donated by Santa Barbara nonprofit Direct Relief. The vehicle will help with tricky rescues, such as when heavy rains pummeled the area in early January.
The County of Ventura received a $350,000 Lenco Armored Rescue Medevac donated by Santa Barbara nonprofit Direct Relief. The vehicle will help with tricky rescues, such as when heavy rains pummeled the area in early January.

A $350,000 rescue vehicle has arrived to fill in gaps during challenging rescue situations in Ventura County after a donation from a Santa Barbara nonprofit.

Direct Relief donated a new armored Lenco Advanced Rescue Medevac, a four-wheel drive vehicle that, among other capabilities, can drive in water and mud up to nearly 4 feet, endure direct flames for a brief period and scale 60-degree slopes, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and the manufacturer.

Sheriff's officials said the nonprofit reached out to the California Office of Emergency Services about a donation after last month's storms. The state connected Direct Relief with public safety officials in Ventura County.

The charity provides humanitarian aid across the country and world, according to its web site. Officials with the nonprofit could not be reached for comment.

Assistant Sheriff Shane Matthews said Tuesday he was "ecstatic" when he learned of the donation. Since he had been a captain with the agency's SWAT team, he had been eyeing the vehicle to add to the fleet but funding wasn't available.

"I'm extremely grateful," he said, noting the donation is the largest he knows of in his 28-year career with the sheriff's office. "(Direct Relief) came through for us on this one."

The medevac, or ARM, fills in the county's overall capacity for responses by SWAT and search-and-rescue teams, Matthews said prior to a planned demonstration of the vehicle.

In SWAT calls, emergency medical personnel may not be able to get near patients because of the danger. The vehicle armor and the interior's medical setup will now allow tactical emergency paramedics to render aid in a safe setting.

The vehicle's four-wheel drive and durability should also give rescue teams a way into hard-to-reach areas of the county, especially during disasters like wildfires, floods and debris flows. Matthews said the vehicle could have been used for rescues up in Matilija Canyon during the January storms.

"This vehicle is the vehicle that kind of fits that bill," he said.

Matthews said he did not yet know how much annual maintenance of the vehicle would cost. The medevac will be cared for and kept by the sheriff's SWAT team because it is armored, he said.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Nonprofit donates specialized rescue vehicle to Ventura County