Efficient in emergencies

Dave Brooks

The Huntington Beach Fire Department is getting a new set of

$155,000 ambulances.

Looking to update its current fleet and correct some problems with

its past line, Fire Chief Duane Olsen has added two new Truck Modular

Freightliners to his fleet and hopes to add an additional two in the

next couple of years.

“This is really about the safety of the patients,” he said during

a City Council tour of the ambulances Monday.

The Huntington Beach Fire Department has a contract with the city

to be the sole ambulance service provider within city limits,

handling about 2,500 calls a year. The department operates a four

vehicle fleet with several additional ambulances on reserve. Olsen

said its now time to retire some of the aging vehicles.

The most problematic units he said, a pair of 1993 Ford Econoline

Van Ambulances, don’t provide nearly enough room for patients and

medical staff.

“It wasn’t adequate for patient care,” he said.

A few years later the department invested in several Van Modulars,

but those two were also problematic. Often the wheel well was too

close to the patient, and when filled to capacity with personnel, the

vehicle could suffer balance problems.

The newest vehicles, called Truck Modulars, are roomier and can

transport two patients, two medics, two attendants and one additional

passenger. The new ambulances have better visibility, he said,

because of a lower cab and a higher windshield, and they utilize an

airbrake system that will help prevent the wheels from locking up.

He also said the engines were easier to repair because the front

of the truck is covered by a hydraulic hood that allows mechanics

quicker access.

The four vehicles will be spread out between two stations: Station

No. 2 on Gothard Street and Station No. 5 on Lake Street.

Olsen expects to get between 150,000 and 200,000 miles of the

ambulances.

“They’re definitely work horses,” he said.