What's News?

By Bennett Kenyon

Monday July 28, 2025

This past Saturday, six of our members participated in a "UTV Safety" course hosted by the Erie County Department of Homeland Security. This three‑hour course was held at the Erie County Forestry and focused on the safe operation of off‑road vehicles. 

The class began by drilling specific "skills" on a cone course. These skills included weaving between obstacles in both forward and reverse, performing evasive maneuvers, and going over large debris such as logs. These drills allowed members to familiarize themselves with the operation of our UTV while also learning important skills that could become useful while operating the vehicle. 

Next, the group embarked on a guided trail ride through the forestry. This ride not only provided a great tour of the wooded area, but gave members a hands‑on opportunity to apply newly acquired skills in a natural environment. While riding through the forestry members encountered tough terrain, traversing through creeks, rock piles, and steep climbs. 

While hosted in the County Forestry in the Town of Sardinia, this course is open to any public safety agency that would like to train their operators. Our members were able to train alongside other fire and police agencies, such as South Line Fire Company, University at Buffalo Police, and Customs and Border Patrol.   

The Chaffee-Sardinia Fire Company operates an Off-Road Rescue Squad composed of a Ski-Doo Snowmobile and a Polaris 6-Wheeled UTV. These apparatus allow us to better serve the Town of Sardinia, which contains significant wooded area and is home to the Erie County Forestry. Equipped with rescue and EMS equipment, our Off-Road Rescue apparatus are critically important in safely and quickly extricating patients in hard to reach areas, both in the our town and in neighboring areas. This UTV Safety course helps ensure our members are welled trained in the operation of this resource.

We extend our sincere thanks to the Erie County Department of Homeland Security for hosting this course and to our members for dedicating their Saturday to sharpen these life‑saving skills!