MUSCATINE, Iowa – The newest member of the Muscatine Fire Department (MFD) ambulance fleet made its long-awaited arrival to Station 1 today (March 23) becoming the first of two 2021 Type III E450 gas ambulances that are scheduled to be delivered this year. The second Type III ambulance is scheduled to arrive mid-summer.
The recent arrival is actually the second “new” ambulance in the Muscatine Fleet following the arrival of a 2021 Type I ambulance that was a demonstration unit and went into service on February 10. Type I ambulances are built on a truck chassis while Type III are built on a van chassis.
“The two Type III ambulances are the culmination of a lot of hard work and coordination between the Muscatine Fire Ambulance Committee and Feld Fire,” Battalion Chief Ted Hillard said. “We wanted our staff to be involved with the development of these ambulances because they are the ones who really know what works and what doesn’t, and what should go where.”
Fire Mechanic Jason Verschoore was instrumental in the design of the two units along with committee members Craig Chelf, Roy Patterson, Andrew McSorley, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Hartman, and Hillard.
“We have found that it works out very well to listen to the fire crews who actually man these units,” Patrick Macke, Feld Fire representative, said. “The comfort and safety of both the crew and the passengers are high on their lists and we listened to their recommendations.”
The new units have plenty of safety options including a patient loading system that allows the crew to load and unload patients without having to physically pick up the cot. The box includes more storage room for equipment and more room in the cab.
“These units also have a new safety belt system that allows the crew to be secured but still able to get up and assist the patient as needed,” Verschoore said. “Moving forward all of our units will have these safety features in them.”
Safety of the crew and patient is one high priority for the Muscatine Fire Department as well as patient comfort.
“These units actually have mood lighting (blue lights) along the ceiling that are useful when transporting young patients, or transporting patients in high stress situations,” Hillard said. “These lights have a calming effect that makes the transport much better for both the patient and the crew.”
The 2021 Type III Ford E450 gas ambulance was ordered in December 2020 to replace a 2011 remount ambulance with nearly 300,0000 miles. The delivery date kept being pushed back due to supply chain issues.
A 2022 Type III E450 gas ambulance was ordered in September 2021 to replace a 2014 Remount Ambulance with over 260,000 miles, and that delivery is expected this summer.
“We are just waiting on a side window to come in to complete the 2022 ambulance,” Macke said. “Supply chain issues have been our biggest hurdle.”
The MFD plans to replace a 2016 ambulance in FY 2023-2024. That ambulance currently has 183,000 miles on the chassis.
The 2021 demo unit is a Type I ambulance and currently based in Station 2 (southend). This unit has most of the safety features of the two Type III ambulances but is also four wheel drive and the chassis can be lowered to make entry and exit into the box easier for patients and crew.
“One of the problems we have had with our older units is that they are not four-wheel drive and we would have to plow ahead of them during winter weather so they could reach the patient,” Hillard said.
The Type III ambulance delivered today is currently being prepped for service and will be housed in Station 1.
Watch VIDEO TOUR of the new ambulance.
The Fire Department was looking at 18 months to get a chassis for the remount, but the ambulance that was planned for the remount already had over 260,000 miles on it.