‘Early detection saves lives’

A familiar sight on Kenai Peninsula streets recently got a new look. Rosey, one of Central Emergency Services’ fire engines, has been wrapped in pink vinyl and renamed “Miss Rosey” to raise awareness about cancer prevention and screening.

The truck was unveiled during the Surviving and Thriving Through Cancer Well-Being Fair at Central Peninsula Hospital on Saturday, Sept. 28. In addition to the pink coloring, Miss Rosey has text on the side that reads “All Cancers, All People, Screening Saves Lives.” Though the truck is pink, which is commonly associated with breast cancer, its message is intended to address all forms of cancer, and a design on the back depicts ribbons of myriad colors.

Miss Rosey, long and fondly so-called because it’s the only engine in CES’s fleet manufactured by Rosenbauer America, has served the Kenai Peninsula since 2013, CES Fire Chief Roy Browning said Saturday. The truck was chosen because it serves as a “ready reserve,” a backup fire truck used when another vehicle is down for maintenance or inspection. That means, Browning said, unlike most of their engines, which can spend years in one place, Miss Rosey will be seen across all five of the communities in the department’s service area.

The project was a collaboration between the Soldotna Professional Firefighters Association and Aurora Integrated Oncology Foundation, Browning said, with help from the CES Board and the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The vinyl wrapping was done locally, by Noah Oostman at Enigma Design on Kalifornsky Beach Road.

Jess Gutzwiler, director of community outreach for the foundation, said she’s now helped to make three fire trucks pink, the CES engine joining two other pink vehicles in Anchorage. Gutzwiler and Browning know one another through the Soldotna Rotary Club, she said, and Browning was eager to see something similar on the peninsula — “he’s like, ‘so when do I get mine?’”

The foundation, Gutzwiler said, is a nonprofit formed in January connecting a group of oncology clinics across Alaska. Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center in Soldotna, within Central Peninsula Hospital, is one of four, joining others in Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Region and in Juneau. The foundation provides funding to help Alaskans to prevent cancer, detect it early, or get to and through treatment. Gutzwiler said that locally they work with Way Out Women, Central Peninsula Hospital and the American Cancer Society, as well as directly with patients.

When the foundation came together earlier this year, Gutzwiler said she secured funding for the Kenai Peninsula to get a pink fire truck.

“Being a Kenai Peninsula resident, this was important to me — as a cancer survivor, it was important,” she said. “This advertisement, I call it a traveling billboard for cancer awareness and early detection, we know that that will save lives.”

Gutzwiler said the first step to being aware of cancer and catching it early is understanding family history. Women should get their first mammogram at 40; men should get a colonoscopy at 45. Catching cancer early makes treatment easier, less invasive, and more successful. Annual checkups with a primary care provider, too, can help establish a baseline to recognize when something in the body is changing suddenly.

Raising awareness about cancer screening, Browning said, is aligned with the department’s mission of community risk reduction. Cancer screening, Browning said, is like checking the batteries in a smoke alarm.

“Early detection saves lives.”

Miss Rosey is already stocked up and ready to respond to emergencies, Browning said, and very nearly responded to a call on Friday.

For more information about Central Emergency Services, find “Central Emergency Services” on Facebook. For more information about the Aurora Integrated Oncology Foundation, visit aiofak.org.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.