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Tag: Trikkes

  • Firefighters hit streets for local burn fundraiser, safety fair

    In an effort to raise funds for burn survivors, hundreds of firefighters from across the state will be out seeking to fill boots with donations at the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane this weekend during the 21st annual “Fill the Boot for Burns” fundraiser in Citrus Heights.

    Fire fighters in street, sign. Charity event in Citrus Heights. Photo by Luke Otterstad
    A sign on Sunrise Boulevard alerts drivers to be on the lookout for fire “fighters in street” for the upcoming boot drive.

    Reporting donations totaling over $100,000 last year, the local four-day fundraiser is one of several dozen “boot drives” across the state that together raised over half-a-million dollars last year for the Firefighters Burn Institute — a Sacramento-based nonprofit which helps provide treatment and recovery programs for burn survivors, as well as host burn-related training and kids camps.

    Weather permitting, the weekend fundraiser will also have a safety fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, featuring a “Jaws of Life” car-cutting demonstration by Metro Fire, a live helicopter landing, fire truck and ambulance displays, clowns, face painting, vendor booths and more, according to an event flier.

    The Citrus Heights Police Department will also be supporting the firefighters’ effort, according to CHPD Sergeant Mike Wells, who said officers will have a patrol vehicle and one of their new three-wheeled Trikkes on display during the safety fair — along with “a K-9 officer and his partner (dog) on site for the community to meet.”

    Tyler Craft, a firefighter-paramedic with Metro Fire Station 21 in Citrus Heights, said he’ll be one of two firemen helping “raise” attention to the fundraiser by serving as a “basket-sitter” atop an extended ladder truck at the intersection for “72 straight hours.” He called the endurance test “nothing close” to the grueling pain burn patients endure.
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    Craft said all “boot” funds collected will go directly to the burn institute, which was founded by firefighters in 1973 after a Sacramento plane crash killed 22 people and burned many others. The Institute has continued in its mission to support research and benefit burn survivors through the years, notably giving $2 million toward the new UC Davis Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center, named in recognition of the Institute’s contributions.

    “The Firefighters Burn Institute here in Sacramento has seriously put Sacramento on the map for burn care,” said Craft, commenting that burn survivors fly in from all over northern California for care. “It truly is a premier burn center.”

    —
    “Fill the Boot for Burns” charity event
    When: Thurs. – Sun., Feb. 12-15, 2015
    9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Where: Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane, intersection

    Safety Fair:
    When: Saturday Feb. 14
    11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
    Where: Sunrise Mall parking lot (Sunrise/Greenback)

    Safety Fair Flier: Safety-Flyer-2015.pdf

  • Citrus Heights Police try new “Trikke” tech to stop crime

    Updated Jan. 22, 3:01 p.m.–
    You may have seen them out on patrol at Sunrise Mall already. They’re the new, three-wheeled “Trikke Patroller” electric units — the latest tech deployed by the Citrus Heights Police Department in an effort to minimize crime at the Mall.

    Trikke, Citrus Heights police
    Officer Jeff Schouten now patrols the Sunrise Mall with one of Citrus Heights Police Department’s new Trikkes.

    The light-weight, collapsible, quiet units are able to go up escalators or down a flight of stairs, and feature California-legal red and blue flashing lights and even a siren — all for a cost of about $4,000 a piece, with civilian versions available starting around $1600.

    Officer Jeff Schouten, CHPD’s full-time policeman handling Sunrise Mall, listed nearly a dozen benefits the Trikkes have, including speeding up officer response time and being great for public relations.

    “I want one… Where do I get one,” are the repeated comments Officer Schouten said he receives from curious shoppers while he’s out patrolling his “little city,” as he calls the Mall. “You see the smile on their face when they see us [on the Trikkes].”

    Officer Schouten — or “Jeff,” as he prefers to be called — said the Trikkes top out at about 15 mph, with officers required to go through a short training course in order to ride them, including learning how to dismount quickly during a pursuit at full throttle.

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    The California-based Trikke company advertises that quick mobility of security personnel on a Trikke can enable one officer to cover an area that would normally take three or four officers. For Jeff, he says that means a several-minute walk across the width of the Mall is now cut down to about a minute on a Trikke — helping raise awareness to police presence and likely cause criminals to think twice.

    The “zip-zip-zip” speed advantage has also helped cut response time in half, according to a loss prevention worker at Macy’s, whose team relies on the police department’s Mall officer to handle arrests or difficult situations.

    Jeff also emphasized the height visibility officers gain when standing on the Trikkes, enabling them to more easily spot people in a crowd and quickly scan activity in a store by looking over racks. He said the height also helps in scanning for suspicious activity in parking lots, and the electric-powered Trikke saves fuel costs with a battery that typically lasts a 10-hour shift.

    The Department first considered buying the Trikkes after seeing them at a CopsWest law enforcement exposition last year that featured new law enforcement vehicles and equipment, according to CHPD Sergeant Mike Wells. He said a big plus is the mobility the 53-pound Trikkes have over the Department’s older “T-3” electric patrol units, which were bulkier and couldn’t fit in the back of a police car.

    The Trikkes were first put in use at the Mall toward the end of 2014, and police said they plan to feature the new three-wheeled scooters in community events like the City’s annual Red, White and Blue Parade.