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July 15, 2021
Peoria Fire robot to assist with hazmat calls BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Peoria Times Executive Editor
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The Peoria Fire-Medical Department has purchased a hazmat robot to avoid tragedies like the 2019 explosion at the APS McMicken energy storage facility that injured four Peoria firefighters. The first of its kind in the United States, the robot was purchased with grant funds from the Tohono O’odham Nation. “Literally, it doesn’t exist anywhere else,” said Peoria Fire Capt. Mark Barbee. “We had four firefighters who were injured at a battery facility. This came about from that. “It was a lot of work with the people involved in the incident and fire administration. We determined we needed to take less risks when we have something like that that is unknown.”
The NED Hazmat 193 robot’s gripping fingers have 65 pounds of squeeze force. (Photo courtesy of the Peoria Fire-Medical Department)
The NED Hazmat 193 robot boasts four cameras and can read labels. The robot allows the operating firefighter to remotely
see inside potentially dangerous spaces before crews enter. “NED,” named after the Tohono O’odham Nation’s chairman, is designed to keep members safe by remote monitoring in dangerous environments that firefighters traditionally enter. The robot is in the automatic aid system so it can be shared throughout the Valley. “We’ve never had an explosion like that that’s injured firefighters,” Barbee said. “It made national news. This robot is a deployable asset.” It is stored with and dispatched by the hazmat team at Fire Station 193, 8330 W. Emile Zola and 83rd Avenue. “NED” has a loading ramp for easy transport. Manufactured by North Carolina’s Superdroid Robots, the model Peoria owns has a plethora of features, including: SEE ROBOT PAGE 5
Several local nonprofits receive increased funding BY TYLER WEGLEITNER Peoria Times Staff Writer
Several West Valley organizations are set to receive increased funding after the Peoria City Council authorized the reallocation of unspent federal coronavirus relief funds. Foundation for Senior Living and Deep Within Rehab Center are expected to receive the new funding, according to Chris
Hallett, Peoria’s director of neighborhood and human services. A New Leaf is also expected to eventually receive reallocated funds. Hallett said this is thanks to a community development block grant, in which unspent federal coronavirus relief funds are being reallocated to different areas of the community that need it most. “These are federal funds that are allocated based on a national formula that takes
poverty, and a lot of factors into play. … Most of it is really dedicated toward capital-type improvements for facilities or nonprofit centers serving the low- to moderate-income population,” Hallett said. According to city documents, the city of Peoria received a total of $1,466,846 in coronavirus relief funds as part of the CARES Act. These funds had previously SEE FUNDING PAGE 3
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