Williamson County EMS 2011 Edition Ambulances

[x635 4,066]

Williamson County, TX (my home county) has taken delivery of 6 new Ford F-450 Super Duty/Wheeled Coach ambulances, with more on the way. These are the first ambulances's to feature Wheeled Coach's "Cool Bar", which intergrates emergency lighting with the front mount A/C unit. They also have air-ride suspensions.

They are remounted onto a new chasis at around 40-60k miles. After another 50k, they are replaced and put into the spare pool for about 2 years, most often less. The oldest frontline ambulance is a 2008.

[JetPhoto 626]

Interesting, such a short lifespan on a chassis and a box. Did you happen to catch the price on the new units?

[Portsmouth OH Fire Buff 8]

Those are some sweet looking Squads, I love the idea of the 'Cool Bar' it's very innovative!!

[x635 4,066]

Interesting, such a short lifespan on a chassis and a box. Did you happen to catch the price on the new units?

They buy through a statewide purchasing cooperative. I'm not sure about the price, but I want to say it's probaly around $100,000. The box is completly custom built for their agency, and is not your typical Wheeled Coach.

They run a lot, sometimes on very rough roads in rural areas, so it's very important to them that the ambulances are very reliable. The ambulances they do trade in after service as a backup unit have a higher resale value, and they offset the cost of buying the new ones.

Also, most stations have a back up ambulance (I previously reffered to them as "spares"). This way, if a crew comes on duty and the primary ambulance is out, they can get to work right away while the other crew is out. Some of the older ambulances are also kept for the supply unit, etc.

[PEMO3 523]

I like it. I want one.

[smwells 7]

How much more effective is the 'cool bar' for warning, over some of the units that i have seen with these lights flush mounted on box?

Just wondering if this design may make sense on units without the a/c issue as well.

[Task Force 7 65]

Those look really sharp!

Williamson County EMS is a dual-paramedic system and provides 911 services to the entire 1,100 square miles of the county including all incorporated cities within. Williamson County EMS currently operates 15 front line ambulances, and 8 in their reserve fleet. Their ambulances are stationed out of EMS stand-alone stations or area Fire Department’s stations. EMS calls per year are averaging just under 30,000, with a slight increase each year. Their crews work a 24hour on, 48hr off rotating schedule of A, B, & C shifts.Williamson County Ambulances are staffed with two paramedics who have undergone extensive training and continuing education to ensure the care provided to their patients is not only competent but outstanding.

[JackEMT 77]

Sharp looking.

What is the floor height of the patient compartment from the ground?

[efdcapt115 1,511]

How much more effective is the 'cool bar' for warning, over some of the units that i have seen with these lights flush mounted on box?

Just wondering if this design may make sense on units without the a/c issue as well.

I was looking at that as well. It looks like the angled lights on the a/c unit provide 45 degree angle coverage. I could see this as being an advantage for entering intersections; the angled lights would hopefully alert traffic in that previously blind spot. It looks like it gives you almost 180 degrees of coverage up front.

[x635 4,066]

To add to what TaskForce7 was saying, Williamson County EMS has a passing rate of 8% for the academic part of their entrance exam.

How much more effective is the 'cool bar' for warning, over some of the units that i have seen with these lights flush mounted on box?

Just wondering if this design may make sense on units without the a/c issue as well.

It gives you added angle and intersection coverage. I can't think of how to describe it.

Here's more of a close up of a prototype version I photographed at Firehouse Central Expo in Dallas this past September.

Sharp looking.

What is the floor height of the patient compartment from the ground?

I'm not sure, but the air ride lowers the back of the ambulance when loading. Also, I think these new ambulances are coming with Stryker's new hydraulic lift system for stretchers, which really require no lifting or loading of the stretcher into the ambulance whatsoever.

[x635 4,066]

Sharp looking.

What is the floor height of the patient compartment from the ground?

I'm not sure, but I got this photo. Hope it gives you a better idea. To note, the air ride suspension lowers the loading height when loading and unloading, and I believe they will be using the new Stryker stretcher lift for ambulances. Sorry for the crappy shot.

[Alpinerunner 61]

Two paramedic service is pretty impressive. Do any other areas have that?

[smwells 7]

To add to what TaskForce7 was saying, Williamson County EMS has a passing rate of 8% for the academic part of their entrance exam.

It gives you added angle and intersection coverage. I can't think of how to describe it.

Here's more of a close up of a prototype version I photographed at Firehouse Central Expo in Dallas this past September.

I saw these lights at the Baltimore show last year, they wobble for constant lighting. But they are not the ones used on the final unit pictured.

[PEMO3 523]

Personally I like these low profile flush mount systems as they draw less power, have less moving parts and give a much larger warning area front and rear as opposed to the traditional light bars. A lot of the newer LED lamp heads actually permit a split color scheme within the same lamp head. Definitely a sharp looking rig. My only observation is that the grill seems to allow only a small amount of air flow across the radiator but again, purely observation, not made based on any facts.

[x635 4,066]

My only observation is that the grill seems to allow only a small amount of air flow across the radiator but again, purely observation, not made based on any facts.

There is a grill to exhaust heat on the drivers side of the module toward the rear

Two paramedic service is pretty impressive. Do any other areas have that?

City Of Austin has a dual-medic system. There are rumors that they may go Paramedic/EMT, but I highly doubt that. If anything, they would use EMT's for BLS calls.

San Antonio EMS runs dual paramedic. The City Of Houston runs some dual medic ambulances, some dual medic squads, Medic/EMT ambulances, and BLS ambulances. Dallas runs all ALS ambulances, staffed by firefighter/paramedics, along with ALS Engine companies.

A lot of other areas in the state run dual medic, and a lot of FD's operate ALS engine companies.

There are still parts of the state that have EMT's though, however they are becoming more extinct.

[dmc2007 17]

Two paramedic service is pretty impressive. Do any other areas have that?

Up here in MA it is pretty much the standard. This is due in part to MA OEMS requiring that the crewmember with the highest level of training rides in back with the patient. While they have recently started allowing combination Paramedic/basic trucks, they are generally frowned upon because it requires the medic to tech every call while the basic always drives. Because of this, P/B trucks, as they are known, don't make a whole lot of sense (and were only recently even allowed by OEMS). Further, I've heard that most medics prefer working on dual medic trucks as it gives them a second pair of hands with ALS training.

A lot of the more progressive systems around the country, run dual-medic. Pittsburgh and Wake County (NC) come to mind.

[PEMO3 523]

OK maybe I am missing something here but how does a grill on the rear of the patient module cool the engine compartment? Not saying it is not possible just confused as to how you could do that and no increase the patient module temperature, shielded or not.

[Alpinerunner 61]

My guess is it has nothing to do with the engine. It's probably part of the dedicated A/C system for the box, or exhaust for an auxillary heating system, if it doesn't use a heat exchanger with engine coolant.

[x635 4,066]

It is part of the A/C unit. It is a large radiator (coils) to help dissipate heat that the A/C system creates. The A/C sytem is completly independent from the chasis A/C