VIDEO: North Bend Fire & Rescue has a new piece of equipment it says will help the city and surrounding areas respond quickly during flood events. KCBY attended a training for firefighters and the city’s Public Works members to learn more about the department’s new sandbagger.
The Sandbagger Model II rests just down the street from North Bend’s fire station. The equipment was acquired through state grants. North Bend Fire has had the machine for around three weeks. And so far, Fire Chief Jim Brown says his team has had no troubles with the learning curve. “We’ve been training our crews on the use of it and it’s been a pretty smooth transition to get our people up and going with this.”
The sandbagger is not very quiet and even shook our reporter while attempting to get footage. The machine can produce 1,600 sandbags per hour and can fill up to four bags at once. The department says it’s a welcome change of pace that can make the difference in emergency situations when compared to doing it the old-fashioned way.