Westfield Vocational-Technical High School junior Megan Ilnicky, 16, displays a device she created in shop class for the Westfield Fire Department. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – An equipment problem for the fire department became an educational opportunity for a Voke student and, in the end, everybody benefited.
Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Hart said that a paddle used by firefighters to propel an ice rescue sled across a frozen lake was lost during a training session and, when he had to find a replacement, his first thought was the machine shop at his alma mater, Westfield Vocational-Technical High School.
Hart explained that, when firefighters are tasked to rescue a person who has fallen though ice, a firefighter will be sent out to the stricken person on a specialized sled.
He said that the sled, which will float if necessary, is propelled by the firefighter laying on it by pushing on the ice with hand held metal paddles which feature spikes to dig into the ice for purchase.
He said that the school has always been helpful with special projects for the department.
“Any time we need machining type work” he said, “they’ve always accommodated us.”
Hart, himself a graduate of the machine shop program at the school, approached his former teacher, department head Clem Fucci, who turned the project over to instructor Gary Nadeau who supervises the school’s juniors and seniors in the Manufacturing Technology program.
Firefighters lost one of the originals paddles (left) used to push an ice rescue sled across ice and a Westfield Vocational-Technical High School student created a replacement (right) in her shop class. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
The original paddle looks much like a mason’s mortar board made of stainless steel with the corners bent over to make points which can be dug into the ice.
Nadeau called the project “a good instructional tool” but said that the school does not stock the stainless steel which would be needed to duplicate the original.
However, Hart said, Nadeau sketched up a rough idea for an aluminum alternative and presented the project to junior Megan Ilnicky, 16.
“He gave me what he thinks it should look like”, Ilnicky said, adding “I kept putting different things on the computer looking to see what was the best” using three dimensional modeling software used frequently in the program.
What looked the best turned out to be a handled aluminum plate with sharpened bolts protruding from it which will dig into the ice so a firefighter can push the sled across the frozen surface.
“Then we just created blueprints and machined it”, Ilnicky said.
She said that she machined three of the five elements of the paddle she designed but, because of “a time crunch”, she enlisted the help of a classmate, Margarita Babinova, to machine the remaining two parts.
She said that Nadeau ground points on the bolts used as spikes on the device.
Nadeau said he chose Ilnicky because “Megan’s our top student” and said the project “aligns with her work goals.
“I verbalized the idea but she created it in the CAD software” he said. “She did a phenomenal job.”
Ilnicky said she enjoyed the project.
“I love shop” she said and said that the project took her about two weeks of shop time to complete.
She said the project went beyond the usual curriculum since “it’s an actual problem we needed to solve” and said the “real world” project taught her a lot.
She said that she was not graded on the project itself but Hart said “The Fire Department gives her an A.”
Hart said that the program has grown tremendously since he graduated in 1986.
“I’ve seen it grow over the years to what it is now” he said and credited Fucci for the program’s success.
“They’re graduating college and work ready kids” he said.
