The mission of the Plymouth Township Fire Department (PTFD) is to ensure the protection of life and property for the community by providing fire suppression, rescue operations, paramedic services, hazardous materials response, emergency management services, environmental emergency mitigation, and fire investigations.

To help accomplish this mission today and in the future, the PTFD has recently made significant improvements and upgrades to equipment and training within the department. The township allocated over $1 million to help replace aging first-responder equipment with state-of-the-art technology while also adding additional items designed to help keep citizens safe.

The PTFD reached an agreement with Stryker Medical, a global leader in medical technologies that offer innovative products and services in med-surg, neurotechnology and orthopaedics that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes.

“They are a Michigan-based company and the gold standard when it comes to medical equipment and have everything from stretchers to cardiac monitors so we are pleased to be partnering with them,” said Plymouth Township Fire Chief Pat Conely. “They have a kind of pay-as-you-go program. We have purchased around $1.1 million worth of new equipment, including direct-patient care equipment, and we're making five annual payments of roughly $223,000 over the next five years.”

Among the purchases are seven new cardiac monitors to replace the six cardiac monitors in the PTFD fleet. The additional monitor will eliminate having to transfer one back and forth between trucks.

“It's gonna standardize the equipment across the fleet so everyone is trained on the same monitor,” Conely said.

The LIFEPAK 35 monitor/defibrillator is the latest model by Stryker and replaces the 15 model that the PTFD has had for about 10 years. The 35 is a state-of-the-art future-ready device designed to promote confident cardiac care, enable clinical excellence and deliver in demanding environments. Its large, easy-to-use touchscreen and advanced clinical decision support tools provide a customizable clinical experience that helps reduce cognitive burden.

The seven monitors cost about $450,000.

The PTFD also purchased five new LUCAS 3 chest compression (CPR) systems from Stryker. The LUCAS device extends the reach of care by maintaining chest compressions during transport to advance lifesaving therapies.

“These are really a game changer in cardiac arrest survival,” Conely said. “I've been in this field since 1990, and this is probably one of the biggest single changes I've seen in cardiac arrest survival. It’s just amazing what it does.”

By using automated, guidelines-consistent CPR, the LUCAS device provides consistent and high-quality chest compressions shown by research to increase the chances of good patient outcomes. It has been demonstrated to increase blood flow to the brain and achieve higher EtCO (End Tidal CO2) values compared to manual compressions.

The deal with Stryker also includes three new and upgraded stretchers and power loads to make getting patients in and out of ambulances and other locations easier and quicker, and four new Xpeditions, Stryker’s first powered stair chair that helps get patients up and down stairs easier and more effectively with increased comfort and security for both first responders and patients.

Plymouth Township Fire also recently replaced its battalion chief vehicle with a new 2025 utility style body truck. The LIFEPAK 35 monitor/de brillator is a state-of-the-art future-ready device designed to promote con dent cardiac care, enable clinical excellence and deliver in demanding environments.

“We upgraded from a pickup truck and it just gives us more usability on the truck,” Conely said. “It also has some features that our old trucks didn't have.”