ITEM: 10.4 CONSENT- Chris Olson, Police Chief
Title
OXYGEN EQUIPMENT AND REGULATORS REPLACEMENT AND UPGRADE
Background
Council is asked to approve the purchase of 30 oxygen units pursuant to the Blaine City Charter section 6.05, which requires City Council approval of all purchases or contracts in excess of $10,000.
One of the primary functions of Blaine Police Officers is responding to medical situations. All of our Officers are trained to the level of First Responders, with some at the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) level. One of the important pieces of equipment a First Responder can carry is oxygen; this is extremely important for various injuries such as trauma caused by assaults and accidents, cardiac arrests, and strokes. In order to deliver oxygen to a patient, certain pieces of equipment need to be available: the oxygen tank, various sized masks, a demand pressure valve with hose, carrying case and the regulator (to control the flow of oxygen). All these pieces work in conjunction with specific life saving equipment such as the LUCAS CPR device (brought to the scene by emergency personnel from Allina for cardiac arrests) when we render aid.
The Blaine Police Department has 30 oxygen units. In order to make this equipment as readily available as possible, all squad cars, CSO vehicles, Detective vehicles, School Resource Officers vehicles and Command Staff vehicles are supplied with this equipment (additional oxygen equipment is available here in our building in such locations as the front counter and jail). All of our current equipment is, at a minimum,10 years old. The oxygen tanks are filled at 1000 psi, a significantly high level of pressure that needs to be safely maintained. By continuing with the existing equipment we currently possess, the safe management of this type of pressure in an oxygen tank, may be compromised. The re-building of the regulators is an option for newer equipment, but due to the age of our existing equipment, parts may or may not be available and re-building costs may not be worthwhile when compared to purchasing new.
Into the future with our new equipment, we will follow manufacturer's recommendation and industry standard with these types of regulators by having them inspected and/or rebuilt every 2 years for safety (which will ensure the safety of the equipment and likely extend the equipment's life). We will continue to re-use and refill our oxygen tanks (and continue with the equipment exchange program we have with Allina: oxygen tanks; masks; and other medical supplies).
On January 5, 2012, the City Council approved the Capital Budget which included $22,000.00 for the oxygen equipment. All the components are not sold together as a complete set and we use several vendors for first aid equipment. By purchasing the components separately from different vendors, we believe we have obtained the best price available. Below is the equipment that is requested.
30 Regulators |
$227.38ea |
$6821.40 |
30 Demand Valve/hose |
$281.30ea |
$8439.00 |
30 Wheel wrench |
$14.75ea |
$442.50 |
30 Carry Cases |
$139.95ea |
$4198.50 |
Tax |
|
$1,368.22 |
Total |
|
$21,269.62 |
Recommendation
By Motion, authorize the purchase of oxygen equipment.