Earlier this week, the Juneau Assembly approved spending $320,200 in mostly federal grant funding to purchase an amphibious wetland rescue vehicle for the Juneau International Airport.
The vehicle is called the Marsh Master MM-2MX. At the Assembly meeting on Monday, City Manager Katie Koester said emergency responders would use the vehicle to rescue people who get stranded in wetland areas surrounding the airport.
“The reason that this response vehicle is necessary is if there were to be an accident, an airplane crash in that area, we would need to allow emergency responders to respond quickly and in large volume to that event,” she said.
The approved purchase includes a $300,200 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and $20,000 from the airport budget in local matching funds. Airport Manager Andres Delgado said the vehicle can be used in a variety of emergency situations.
“As far as its water capabilities, it does float, and it can traverse ice and muskeg and really harsh terrain as well,” he said.
The airport’s board of directors approved the purchase last month. The Assembly approval came this week, despite Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly member Neil Steininger voting against it. Weldon served as a division chief at Capital City Fire/Rescue for two decades. She said she didn’t think the amphibious vehicle was necessary.
“I appreciate us trying to get a specialized piece of equipment, but as people know, I come from the fire department. I have seen these, and I just don’t see it as something that we need right now,” she said.
CCFR Chief Rich Etheridge said the department typically responds to three to four incidents a year in the wetlands. People sometimes get trapped there when the tides come in behind them. The ongoing maintenance of the vehicle will be paid for out of the airport’s budget.
