GHFD#5 adds ambulance to fleet
In a release, Grays Harbor Fire District 5 announced the purchase of a 2011 Ford F450 Ambulance with a wheeled Coach Box to assist residents.
The Grays Harbor Fire District 5 Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the 2011 Ford F450 in a special meeting on July 7th, 2020 for the cost of $85,000.
In a release it states that the F450 6.7-liter Diesel 4×4 has only 52,800 miles and came equipped with a Stryker Power Gurney and a Power load system (that if bought new normally costs around $40,000).
Grays Harbor Fire District 5 switched its gurney system over to the Stryker Power Gurneys in 2017 just 3 years ago with a levy in order to help with both patient and EMS provider safety. The 2011 F450 came with a power gurney along with a power load System that lifts and lowers the cot in and out of the ambulance, reducing spinal loads and the risk of cumulative trauma injuries to EMS providers. It improves operator and patient safety by supporting the cot throughout the loading and unloading process.
The Fire District has plans to change the color scheme of the ambulance (White to Black using a wrap) and the addition of the district vehicle logo to match the rest of our fleet design and the installation of local radio equipment and wifi hotspots. The vehicle already had emergency lighting, emergency sirens, ventilation system, backup camera, and more already installed and the ambulance was ready to put into service which was this past weekend on July 26th.
Grays Harbor Fire District 5 Commissioners wanted to make improvements to its fleet of ambulances ensuring our continued commitment to deliver high-quality responses of our providers and vehicles to serve the community.
The district was able to pay for this purchase using a combination of funds like, Ambulance replacement funds that we have been Budgeting for each year and the addition of GEMT (Ground Emergency Medical Transport) funds which, is federal Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement for transport services.
In the future, Chief Adam Fulbright says that he plans to implement an ambulance replacement plan that would allow the district to Minimize the higher costs of maintaining older equipment and creating a more reliable fleet for the community.