As you may have seen around town, the new RED ambulance rolling around town. This new unit is officially Medic 24 and is in service as of June 1, 2020! With some help from Assistant Chief Jim Jones, I was able to get some insight to the process of purchasing this unit.

Captain John Boleyn was challenged in the process of stocking the ambulance because, as you can tell, it is much different compared to our current mobile intensive care units. the three previous units are laid out almost identical to each other. The patient compartment is configured in a way that many adjustments needed to be made.

After two years of reviewing specifications and bids from various vendors, HCESD # 2 / Lumberton Fire & EMS has purchased a new ambulance.

The vendors include:

• Wheeled Coach
• Braun
• Osage
• Frazier
• Medix
• McCoy Miller ambulances.

The specific ambulances reviewed included both custom built and demo ambulance designs.

Medix was selected and approved by the ESD Board in May 2019 for a variety of reasons listed below in no particular order.

• This unit was a demonstration unit that allowed a rapid fleet deployment for COVID response capabilities.
• The total cost of the ambulance including the Ferno power stretcher and rail was approximately $229,000.  (Actual ambulance cost was $201,000)
  • This cost included all paint and graphics work and was approximately $30,000 less than the closest bid and $50,000 less than the most expensive bid.

The specifications of the ambulance include:

• Ford F450 4X4 chassis with a 6.7L Diesel engine
• 14 foot patient compartment box allowing maximum room for equipment and patient care.
• Patient compartment box includes 6 point harness systems that improve crew safety while allowing patient care activities.
• Patient compartment box is constructed utilizing a solid body construction technique improving crew safety.
• Liquid suspension system included for improved riding comfort.
• Reduced maintenance and operational cost due to the modernization of the patient compartment HVAC system and the elimination of a separate generator system.

The inclusion of this ambulance to our aging fleet allows improved 911 response capabilities for HCESD # 2 / Lumberton Fire & EMS.  Our current ambulance fleet now consist of four ambulances including 2011, 2012, 2016 year models, and the new 2019 ambulance.

This new addition allows a reserve vehicle, in addition to allowing the capability of responding to three simultaneous 911 calls in our community.

We are excited to have this ambulance as this purchase was part of an ongoing fleet modernization program that spans 20 years and includes the purchase of both EMS and Fire apparatus.