Today's fire departments and private paramedic companies spend considerable dollars when purchasing ambulances. There's a lot to ponder before a penny is spent, including how the vehicle rides at high speeds, its functionality and its onboard technology, said Bill Vidacovich, vice president of fleet management for Lafayette, La.?based Acadian Ambulance Service.

Acadian Ambulance grew from a two-ambulance shop in 1971 to a staff of more than 2,500 today. Vidacovich said that to provide quality emergency care, the company's ambulance fleet needs to be in tip-top shape and often customized to meet his satisfaction. In addition, he's always looking toward the future and the “perceived need of the upcoming year.” For example, this year the company purchased 49 units for expansion of operations and for replacement.

“If we know we are going to buy out a company, we plan for that buy-out, knowing what type of ambulances we may be buying or needing to replace,” Vidacovich said. “Or, if we just expand our existing operation through taking on more territory or contracts, then we also look at that.”

When specifying an ambulance, Vidacovich said he looks at whether the space, size and organization is conducive to the medic's job — meaning it must be well designed and functional. He often takes trips to the factories to review products from the ground up to determine whether he's satisfied with their manufacturing techniques. This helps him determine the longevity of the equipment, in terms of the truck as well as the finished product, he said.

Most recently, the company has been looking at an ambulance's fuel mileage when specifying. Acadian's fleet of ambulances have a typical gas consumption of 9 mpg. New units available on the market offer better gas mileage, Vidacovich said.

“Some of the new units we are buying get 15 mpg,” he said. “That's a pretty significant increase for us in terms of mileage.”

Vidacovich offered some advice to those chiefs making purchasing decisions: don't be penny wise and dollar foolish when specifying ambulances. Buyers need to look beyond the upfront cost and also consider the expected life span of the vehicle and its anticipated maintenance costs. Buyers often pay less for the product initially but considerably more over the long run, he said.

“If you buy a modular ambulance — basically a box on the back of a pickup truck — we have used those up to 250,000 miles … and we sell them at that point,” Vidacovich said. “We take the module off and we refurbish that module and put it back on a new chassis — the longevity of the module is 20 years or longer — as opposed to buying a whole new one.”

From the Chief

Networking with other chiefs is essential before making any purchase, in order to share in-the-field experiences, including those related to equipment reliability and functionality, said Mark Ober, chief of Anderson Township Fire and Rescue Department in southeastern Ohio. The only way to really know whether a piece of equipment is worth the money is to tap into the knowledge of fellow chiefs.

“I get a lot of calls from chiefs who ask me a question about equipment purchases and what works best in the field,” Ober said. “Then, I go ahead and do the same thing.”

Ober's said he asks chiefs whether their product purchase met their specifications as well as the needs of the department's external and internal clients. For example, he wants to ensure all paramedics who work on the rig are safe, which includes having a seatbelt in the rear of the module. In fact, he said he stripped out the squad benches in his department's modules and installed a captain chair with a seatbelt harness. However, it changed the ambulance's classification.

“The move made them Type IIs, so they can't haul two patients anymore,” he noted.