News from The Rookie Sidekick: Missoula Smokejumpers, DRM & TSI @ TEEX, First Overseas Customer

I'll spare the bad puns about inventor David Johnston's product catching fire . . . Here's a round-up of news from Deschutes River Manufacturing, the Bend, Oregon-based maker of the go-anywhere power fire hose roller, The Rookie Sidekick. -hoc
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Wildland Season Kick-Off: Six New Rookies for Missoula Smokejumpers

To prepare for wildland season in the West, the famed Missoula Smokejumpers recently purchased a half-dozen new Rookie fire hose rollers. The Missoula Smokejumper Base is located at the Aerial Fire Depot by Missoula International Airport in Missoula, Montana. The base is situated adjacent to the Region One Fire Cache, the Interagency Fire Science laboratory, and the Northern Region Training Center.

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DRM Goes to Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)
Firefighter Training with Training Specialties Inc.

Deschutes River Manufacturing returns to TEEX in July to assist with firefighting instruction in conjunction with Training Specialities Inc. Part of the Texas A&M University system, TEEX's Emergency Services Training Institute instructs more than 81,000 emergency responders from all 50 states and 45 countries each year. Rookie Sidekicks we donated to TEEX are used every day at their Brayton Fire Training Field, the largest live-fueled firefighter training facility in the world.

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First Rookie Sidekick Shipped Overseas
Singapore Company Supplies Malaysian Oil Industry

Although we have a distributor in Canada and several customers there, we recently shipped our first Rookie Sidekick All-In-One Electric to a customer outside of North America - an engineering supply company based in Singapore that serves oil company customers in Malaysia.

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New Training DVD Available, Video On Web

With invaluable assistance from the Crooked River Ranch Fire Department, we recently produced a training DVD covering basic operation for each model of the Rookie Sidekick, plus the Rookie Reloader. Deschutes River Manufacturing donated a Rookie Sidekick gas (rolls up to 3" dia. fire hose) to the CRR FD, which also purchased a Rookie Reloader to complete its hose management system.

Click here to view an excerpt from the DVD - and to see other videos of the Rookie Sidekick in action.

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New Customers: Industrial, Municipal, Wildland
From North Carolina to British Columbia

• Anderson Township Fire & Rescue (near Cincinnati, Ohio) purchased a Rookie Sidekick after a 30-day trial.

• At the Northwest Fire & Rescue Exposition, Kittitas County Fire & Rescue in central Washington bought a Rookie Sidekick on the spot and wheeled it out of our booth. Our distributor Type One made the sale.

• Department of Energy contractor Fluor-Hanford in Richland, Washington recently purchased a Rookie Sidekick Gas for the DOE's Hanford Site.

• The Canadian Department of Energy in British Columbia bought an All-In-One Electric and portable stand. Our distributor in the Great White North, Columbia Fire & Safety, made the sale.

• Georgia-Pacific in Alabama joined our customer list with a unit sold by HC Services in Laurel, Mississippi.

• Cramerton Volunteer Fire Department (near Charlotte, North Carolina) added a Rookie Sidekick All-In-One Gas to its essential firefighting gear.