City officials were handed the keys to the fire department’s newest all-terrain vehicle capable of searching some of the most difficult landscapes.
The need for the new ATV became apparent after a biker was lost last year in the Farrington Woods, a near 200 acre park on the city’s west side. Bethel resident Stephen Shafer, 56, an avid mountain biker, was found dead after a one day search of the property.
“Another department brought one of theirs to the search effort and we realized how useful it would be to have one of these in the department,” said communications officer Jamie Gagliardo, who helped to organize the donation of the vehicle by Enbridge, a transmission company that owns the Algonquin natural gas pipeline that runs through the city.
Ed Harney, a local manager for the company, said the donation was a way of giving back to the city after all that officials and private residents did to make way for upgrades to the lines in recent years.