Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

ambulance-association-Sadlier

Full Text:

Volunteers Roll Out A New Ambulance

(with photo)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

When responding to calls for medical help in its new ambulance, the Newtown

Volunteer Ambulance Association will have an added measure of safety in a

vehicle that's larger, stronger and heavier than its predecessor.

The association recently bought a diesel-powered Ford E-450 truck which it has

designated as Ambulance 770. The white, orange and blue vehicle joins

Ambulances 780 and 790 in the corps' 79 Main Street garage.

The association has donated the former Ambulance 770 to the police department.

The police plan to use it as a utility vehicle.

Chris Sadlier, an ambulance corps member for the past 12 years, served on the

corps' ambulance selection committee. Mr Sadlier, a Greenwich fireman who is

an intravenous technician with the ambulance association, helped select the

last several ambulances purchased by the volunteer group. Steve Murphy headed

the most recent ambulance selection panel.

In choosing the vehicle, corps members opted to buy a Ford E-450 truck chassis

mounted with a wheeled coach modular-style ambulance body. The ambulance has

14,500-lb gross vehicle weight rating, which is several thousand pounds

greater than the vehicle it replaces.

The ambulance's added capacity means it is built heavier all the way around,

providing an added safety factor while on calls, Mr Sadlier explained.

"It's a beefier truck," he said.

The new ambulance cost $94,000, of which the town donated about half the

money, Mr Sadlier said. The remainder was raised privately.

When it's equipped with emergency gear, such as radios and medical equipment,

the vehicle carries at least $20,000 worth of paraphernalia.

The ambulance body on the back of the truck is several inches taller than the

previous body, allowing more headroom and better working conditions for

ambulance staffers.

Two patients can be transported at a time. Typically, there are four people in

the ambulance: a patient, two attendants and a driver.

First Service

The vehicle saw its first local service November 8.

The corps is now responding to about 1,300 calls annually, or about three

calls daily, on average. The number of ambulance calls has increased as the

town's population has risen, Mr Sadlier said.

The new ambulance will be rotated with the other two ambulances on medical

calls, Mr Sadlier said.

To handle the hazards of winter driving, the ambulance is equipped with

"drop-down chains." The tire chains are kept in a storage area just above the

tires. When needed, the chains are dropped down from above onto the tires,

making for an easy conversion for winter driving conditions.

The ambulance is equipped with four antennas. One antenna handles the

vehicle's dispatch frequency. Another is linked to a medical radio which

provides communication between the ambulance and the hospital. A third antenna

is used for cellular telephone communications. A fourth antenna can be used

for an emergency services radio scanner.

In equipping the new ambulance, the corps has worked to keep the interior

layout the same as in the other ambulances, Sadlier explained.

The places where antiseptic is stored and where bandages are kept are the same

in the new ambulance as in the older ones to make working in the new vehicle

familiar and straightforward for the ambulance crews.

The 50-member corps expects the new ambulance to be in service for the next

five to six years.