Whats Up With Expensive Ambulances?

[3015 0]

Can I ask why do agencies feel the need to spend over 100,00 dollars on an ambulance? We need custom cabintes, Strobes, LEDs, Gas window tiniting, etc. Does having a truck like this make people think they will provide a better patient care? The only thing it creates is more headaches when the eletrical system shorts out or putting an enormous Mod Body on a chasis that can't handle it. It is funny because I work for a commercial service that buys 60,000 dollar ambulances and we do just fine. Maybe they should find a better way to spend tax payers money or put it towards a better idea.

[Guest Truckie 1075]

Can I ask why do agencies feel the need to spend over 100,00 dollars on an ambulance? We need custom cabintes, Strobes, LEDs, Gas window tiniting, etc. Does having a truck like this make people think they will provide a better patient care? The only thing it creates is more headaches when the eletrical system shorts out or putting an enormous Mod Body on a chasis that can't handle it. It is funny because I work for a commercial service that buys 60,000 dollar ambulances and we do just fine. Maybe they should find a better way to spend tax payers money or put it towards a better idea.

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How about paying someone to provide the service. which is what will happen if the active membership numbers keep going the way they are. The problem is, taxpayers don't know what their money is being wasted on, they don't realize they are paying for excesive warning lights, gold leaf, tinted windows, ect. because they don't know the difference. meanwhile they can't roll the rig to a medical emergency in a reasonable amount of time, but it's ok because they have 72 stobe and led heads on one ambulance. if all else fails they will give the paitent a seizure with the $$$$ light package. The problem in many departments is the constant need to Out-do the next dept. with more un-needed frills, which don't benefit the community one bit. it's a waste on money and taxpayers should be educated.

[Guest]

i expereince the same problem. 100,000+ for am ambulance that does maybe between 2-4 thousand runs a year is far too much. Not to mention the fact that 9 out of 10 drivers dont know how to drive and abuse the equiptment. And, at the end of the day, the custom furnature doesnt fit the ALS supplies and the custom LEDS dont allow the ambulance to get to a call faster (could you imagine?!). It surely speaks to the "wacker factor" of an agency or maybe the volunteer system as a whole.

Edited January 21, 2006 by 66Alpha1

[unleashedff248 3]

First off, i'm not taking either side or saying that a $100k+ ambulance makes a lack of patient care any better. But I do believe the reason departments buy such rigs is for a certain pride factor that encompasses the fire service as a whole. Everyone likes to take out the new rigs. I'd rather be on a nice looking and new engine/ambulance than a 20 year old one. Why do we put gold leaf and fancy graphics on our apparatus? It's a tradition.

The whole idea behind LED warning packages is that they provide superior light output with minimal current draw. This allows for greater engine efficiency and other technological advantages. As for mechanical problems with new rigs...I don't think the fire departments/EMS corps are the ones to blame for that. It's the manufacturer's fault at that point. If you buy a DVD player, take it out of the box, plug it in, and it won't turn on because of manufacturer defect, do you blame yourself for the problem? I didn't think so.

The lack of coverage for the volunteer fire/ems service is a huge problem indeed, but as I see it, it's due to a shift in the way people think now-a-days. Everyone's out to make as much money as they can so they can buy a beautiful house and that BMW or Mercedes. They simply don't care about anyone or anything else. How do we solve that problem? An incentive perhaps, such as money? But now it's not volunteer. That's not to say there aren't people who do a lot too. In Somers, we're facing staffing issues with EMS. Our call volume is ridiculous, and it's rising by hundreds of calls every year. We have 12 or so EMT's, yet only about 10% of our EMS calls go mutual aid. I believe we do over 1000 EMS runs every year. Do the math. That's a lot of calls and time (about 2 hrs per call) for the ones that do show.

Why don't people pull over for red lights and sirens anymore? Years ago, one rotator and a siren used to be fine. Now, forget it. Everone's in such a rush to go nowhere, and God forbid they should take the solid 10 seconds to pull over for an emergency vehicle, which is REQUIRED by V&T Laws. Ask people why thay still talk on their cell phones while driving. We all know it causes accidents, we've seen it over and over. Not to mention it's against the law. Next time you go to an MVA involving an intox, ask the person why they did it. Does it make any sense?

So for all of us that go out there every day and do our jobs, whether it be career or volunteer, consider these nice rigs and new equipment the LEAST our departments can do for our time and services. And maybe we should stop yelling about not covering calls and start thanking those who do the 100+ calls a year. Does it solve the problem of coverage? Not really. But ask, can we really solve the problem and keep everything volunteer? I'm not so sure anymore.

Edited January 21, 2006 by unleashedff248

[IzzyEng4 427]

Much of the cost of the ambulances today mainly depend on the chassis type and then of course the box type. We all know that Type I and Type III (sorry I still call them that) are more expensive because of the modular box, where as a Type II really only needs to that the inside customized and the roof of the unit raised up. Also to, you can't knock lighting systems. Just like the NFPA 1901 guidelines for fire trucks, ambulances have guidelines also. All ambulances have to have the lighting that you see on them today per the guidelines, LED Strobe or halogen or a combination. With everything we run today in a back of a rig today, its eating up power, so there is a factor and more money spent.

Commercial services are looking for cost saving when purchasing the type of unit but also follow the guidelines and they spend money on type I and IIIs at a minimum. Type IIs really do not have a long life and since they are essentually econoline vans, they cannot be modified that much and are usually disposed of arounf the 100,000 to 150,000 mark. In a real perfect world, a service especially a volunteer service, would have a Type I or III and have the box remounted on a new chassis, as long as there is no damage, rust ect.

Trust me, I am no fan of buying a unit as a so called "parade piece", that's left for the old antiques but there are many avenues all services can go. Of course uo here ambulances usually last anywhere from 10 to 15 years depending on the service, miles and engine hours. Of course too there are some services that abuse spending money as well.

Quite frankly, if I am buying a $100,000 ambulances with all the bells for patient care and not show, it better average out $1 per mile of it's life or better. Just my 2 cents

[NJFDPLFC5 0]

i expereince the same problem. 100,000+ for am ambulance that does maybe between 2-4 thousand runs a year is far too much. Not to mention the fact that 9 out of 10 drivers dont know how to drive and abuse the equiptment. And, at the end of the day, the custom furnature doesnt fit the ALS supplies and the custom LEDS dont allow the ambulance to get to a call faster (could you imagine?!). It surely speaks to the "wacker factor" of an agency or maybe the volunteer system as a whole.

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LED are brighter and eaiser to maitain than cheaper lights so you are all wrong there. As for driving I have seen more accidents with career departments than volunteer .Volunteers as a whole are not wackers and that is a very large insult because if you got hurt you would not stop someone from helping you if their patch said volunteer so you are just a union ra ra ignorant person who thinks that just because you get a paycheck at the end of the week you are better than everybody else .You think spending 100,000 on an ambulance is too much but spending more than that so some union rep can go to an convention and get a hooker and drunk is ok . Look at what is the real crimeis . And so you know I am a career FF so before you go saying anything you should take your union card out of your mouth and maybe you can then say something intelligent .

[hfdr19 0]

Can I ask why do agencies feel the need to spend over 100,00 dollars on an ambulance? We need custom cabintes, Strobes, LEDs, Gas window tiniting, etc. Does having a truck like this make people think they will provide a better patient care? The only thing it creates is more headaches when the eletrical system shorts out or putting an enormous Mod Body on a chasis that can't handle it. It is funny because I work for a commercial service that buys 60,000 dollar ambulances and we do just fine. Maybe they should find a better way to spend tax payers money or put it towards a better idea.

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I have to disagree with you not all agencies out there spend taxpayer money just because it's there or they can.Do you get to say what you want or don"t need when your comm. service orders an ambulance? Is that ambulance you use perfect or is there something you wish it had or didn't have. That's the whole reason behind a ambulance committee. remember that the ones ordering an ambulance are or should be residences of that town and are also the taxpayers paying for it. If you check the prices on a type 3 (not a mini mod) with a ford chasiss run about 90 to 100k just for the bare bones. as for the 60k ones remember you get what you pay for. we had them and they didn't last if you work in commerical service you know that for them its about price. These places your talking about are how long are they keeping the ambulance? if they spend 100k and 2 years later they want to a new one then thats a bit much but if they keep it for 8, 10 years then that's not to bad. Every service paid or volley runs differently what you think is to much might not be for them. the rest of what you mention boils down to lack of knowledge. if someone knows nothing about ambulances then they should not be ordering one!

[Skooter92 7]

Ya know-

If you want to spend a little more for an ambulance purchased by a volunteer service that does the job and wants to put some more neat-o stuff on to keep people happy....so what!

No skin off my back.

I can do my job in the back of the $50k AEV van, or the $120k PL Custom mod. An ambulance, simply put, is a way to get the patient to the hospital. More room, more this and that, is incidental. As long as we give them the care they need and deserve.......the wacker factor or lack thereof doesn't enter into it.

I've worked in some truly bare bones to super deluxe rigs, from vans with a stretcher mount and O2 bracket only (a converted ambulette!) in Brooklyn back in the 80's, to hightop Suburbans and Caddys in the midwest, to vans, mods and medium-duty rescues. They all got the job done. As far as what constitutes an ambulance, the bare minimum is the federal GSA KKK-1822E (or are we up to F) specification. Try reading it. Ain't much there. That is the official definition of a rig. Each state imparts their own flavor to this basic set of requirements, but on the whole, manufacturers will sell you as much as they feel they can get you to pay for. Therein the differences between rigs amongst the various types of services. Deeper pockets, fancier wheels.

Edited January 22, 2006 by Skooter92