MIDDLESBORO - As part of a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Bell County Rescue Squad received a Kawasaki Mule and 30 new rescue helmets on Wednesday.

Resembling a large golf cart, the gasoline-fueled, four-wheel drive vehicle is constructed of steel and rubber and sports a modest cargo bed.

It is an off-road vehicle that can navigate trails commonly used by ATV riders and can be customized to carry injured riders.

It will be primarily used to search for and rescue victims of ATV accidents, said Lt. Josh Sherman, a six year veteran of the Bell County Rescue Squad.

The new vehicle will be added to the squad's motor pool which includes another, much older Mule model.

In the late 1990s when before the squad acquired the first Mule, Sherman said rescuers had to physically carry an injured ATV rider more than three miles from the crash location in Straight Creek. With the vehicles, the rescues have become more efficient, and so have the searches.

According to Sherman, most ATV rescues come after a search that usually lasts into the night.

"Usually it's after someone doesn't come home," he said.

"We want to get the right equipment into the hands of the people who need it," said Bell County Judge-Executive Bill Kelley, who was present when the Mule was delivered to the Rescue Squad station in downtown Middlesboro.

Aside from the Mule, which cost more than $7,000, the grant also provided the money for the squad to buy 30 new rescue helmets.

The rescue helmets resemble those worn by firefighters. They sport a heavy fiberglass shell, plexiglass eye shielding and a Nomex liner. Each helmet is valued at several hundred dollars.

The squad's previous helmets had been purchased at varying times since the 1970s.

The Bell County Rescue Squad was founded in 1959 and currently has 28 members in its all-volunteer rescue force.

The organization supports five trucks, several ATVs and now, two Mules for its various rescue functions, which include extracting people from wrecked cars, conducting ATV and mountain rescues and conducting water rescues.