ATHOL — The Athol Fire Department has taken delivery of a 2019 Ford F550 Life Line Superliner Ambulance and needed equipment.
The ambulance replacement was approved at the July 22, 2019 Town Meeting and appropriation was funded from the Ambulance Reserve Account, which is utilized to replace the Athol Fire Department ambulance on a rotating basis.
The ambulance being replaced is 10 years old and has been costing the town a great deal of money in repairs over the years. These ambulances respond continually throughout the year and this produces much wear and tear on these large vehicles.
It is imperative that the department’s ambulance be kept up to date and in good running condition at all times. The ambulances are rotated in use so that not one ambulance is being used continually, but even that doesn’t help when the ambulance and its equipment are old. Fire and EMS equipment and procedures are changing fluidly and not keeping the fire apparatus, ambulances and equipment up to date mechanically would eventually cost the town more money to update and repair.
The new ambulance is up to date with all new OEMS-compliant equipment including a patient lifting system that lifts the patient into the ambulance without having the responders having to physically do the job, which will help prevent responders for suffering from back injuries.
The process of acquiring this ambulance began almost two years ago. I knew that I would be requesting the replacement of the 10-year-old ambulance in the very near future.
To have accurate replacement costs in hand when asking for the replacement, I chose Firefighter Kevin Kaczmarczyk to form a committee to spec out a new ambulance and equipment needed. Kaczmarczyk chose Capt. Eric Jack and Capt. Andy Soltysik to complete his committee and immediately began their fact finding as to various ambulance manufacturers, equipment, OEMS requirements and specifications.
It was long process but when the town approved the request, we were all set, the inquiring was already done. The committee agreed that Specialty Vehicles of Plainville was the best fit for what we were looking for regarding cost and service. Following the delivery, all pertinent licensing, inspections, and training measures were taken to put this ambulance into service.