Creating a Custom Rescue Vehicle

Oldsmar, a town located at the northern end of Tampa Bay on Florida's west coast, covers 10 square miles and has a resident population of 15,000 that swells to 35,000-40,000 during the day. And the town is growing.

     Until recently, the 15 firefighter paramedics and EMTs of Oldsmar Fire Rescue operated a single ALS engine, but had no advanced life support rescue vehicle capable of transporting patients. They had to rely on assistance from other area fire departments and the countywide contracted ambulance service, Sunstar EMS, to help meet the community's needs.

     According to EMS Coordinator Aaron Gonzalez, FF/EMT-P, there were problems in continuing to use the single engine: The large unit was difficult to operate and maneuver for medical emergencies; the runs caused heavy wear and tear on such a sizeable vehicle; and, if the engine was out on an emergency medical call, automatic aid units from other departments were needed to respond to fires.

     The department needed a rescue unit to take the strain off the fire truck and quicken response times, but didn't know if they had any specialized needs that required something other than a standard ambulance or how it would be financed.

Planning the Unit
     As all of Oldsmar is located in a hurricane evacuation area, the rescue truck would need to be built higher than a traditional ambulance so it could be driven through flooded areas. Also, operating such a high-up, heavy-duty rescue truck would allow the driver to better see the roadway and other vehicles.

Funding
     When Chief Scott McGuff knew it was time for the department to have its own rescue truck, he formed a committee to make it happen. The committee consisted of Chief McGuff, Gonzalez, FF/EMT Joe Kovacs and FF/paramedic David Young. Both Young and Kovacs are shift personnel who would be part of the vehicle staffing.

     About this time, two Oldsmar citizens, Steve and Susanne Pantle, stepped forward to help. Oldsmar Fire Rescue had saved their business during a fire several years before and had been lifesavers during Steve's brother's cardiac arrest. The Pantles invited other willing Oldsmar residents to join them in raising $160,000 for the new fire rescue unit, which was the expected cost at that time.

Some selling points they stressed:

1. If the fire engine was on call, it could not respond to an additional medical emergency
2. There are only three access points to the city for outside rescue units to use when responding for assistance
3. The new rescue unit would improve response time, increase medical emergency capabilities and free up the fire engine for other emergencies.

Hot Tips: What Your Department Needs To Know

• Before ordering a vehicle, go out and look at others already in service to see what will fit your needs.
• Talk to other departments about what they like and dislike about their vehicles. Ask what they wish they had ordered now that their vehicles have been in service for a while, and if there is anything they haven't used or found unnecessary.
• Visit manufacturers. See how the trucks are built and how they can be customized to fit your needs. This will give you an idea of how well they are built and which specialized features each manufacturer can give you.
• When requesting funding, be sure to include contingency funds for things that will crop up as the vehicle is put into service.
• When adding cabinets, know what you will put in them before determining the size and location.
• Allow enough time to study options, work out details and make your selections. The Oldsmar truck took nearly two years from start to finish, although the actual build time was only four to five months.

Pre-Build Conference
     It was decided that a custom truck would best fit Oldsmar's requirements. In preparing for the pre-build conference, the Oldsmar rescue truck committee conferred with members of other fire rescue departments and visited several manufacturers of fire trucks and ambulances. In this way, they were able to gain insight and get ideas as to what would work well in their truck and what might not serve their purposes.