Creating a Custom Rescue Vehicle

Oldsmar, a town located at the northern end of Tampa Bay on Florida's west coast, covers 10 square miles and has a resident population of 15,000 that swells to 35,000-40,000 during the day. And the town is growing.

     Until recently, the 15 firefighter paramedics and EMTs of Oldsmar Fire Rescue operated a single ALS engine, but had no advanced life support rescue vehicle capable of transporting patients. They had to rely on assistance from other area fire departments and the countywide contracted ambulance service, Sunstar EMS, to help meet the community's needs.

     According to EMS Coordinator Aaron Gonzalez, FF/EMT-P, there were problems in continuing to use the single engine: The large unit was difficult to operate and maneuver for medical emergencies; the runs caused heavy wear and tear on such a sizeable vehicle; and, if the engine was out on an emergency medical call, automatic aid units from other departments were needed to respond to fires.

     The department needed a rescue unit to take the strain off the fire truck and quicken response times, but didn't know if they had any specialized needs that required something other than a standard ambulance or how it would be financed.

Planning the Unit
     As all of Oldsmar is located in a hurricane evacuation area, the rescue truck would need to be built higher than a traditional ambulance so it could be driven through flooded areas. Also, operating such a high-up, heavy-duty rescue truck would allow the driver to better see the roadway and other vehicles.

Funding
     When Chief Scott McGuff knew it was time for the department to have its own rescue truck, he formed a committee to make it happen. The committee consisted of Chief McGuff, Gonzalez, FF/EMT Joe Kovacs and FF/paramedic David Young. Both Young and Kovacs are shift personnel who would be part of the vehicle staffing.

     About this time, two Oldsmar citizens, Steve and Susanne Pantle, stepped forward to help. Oldsmar Fire Rescue had saved their business during a fire several years before and had been lifesavers during Steve's brother's cardiac arrest. The Pantles invited other willing Oldsmar residents to join them in raising $160,000 for the new fire rescue unit, which was the expected cost at that time.

Some selling points they stressed:

1. If the fire engine was on call, it could not respond to an additional medical emergency
2. There are only three access points to the city for outside rescue units to use when responding for assistance
3. The new rescue unit would improve response time, increase medical emergency capabilities and free up the fire engine for other emergencies.

Hot Tips: What Your Department Needs To Know

• Before ordering a vehicle, go out and look at others already in service to see what will fit your needs.
• Talk to other departments about what they like and dislike about their vehicles. Ask what they wish they had ordered now that their vehicles have been in service for a while, and if there is anything they haven't used or found unnecessary.
• Visit manufacturers. See how the trucks are built and how they can be customized to fit your needs. This will give you an idea of how well they are built and which specialized features each manufacturer can give you.
• When requesting funding, be sure to include contingency funds for things that will crop up as the vehicle is put into service.
• When adding cabinets, know what you will put in them before determining the size and location.
• Allow enough time to study options, work out details and make your selections. The Oldsmar truck took nearly two years from start to finish, although the actual build time was only four to five months.

Pre-Build Conference
     It was decided that a custom truck would best fit Oldsmar's requirements. In preparing for the pre-build conference, the Oldsmar rescue truck committee conferred with members of other fire rescue departments and visited several manufacturers of fire trucks and ambulances. In this way, they were able to gain insight and get ideas as to what would work well in their truck and what might not serve their purposes.

     The pre-build conference traditionally involves committee members from a fire rescue department and a team made up of the builder's engineers and experts. Pre-build conferences can last a day or longer. It is a chance for the fire rescue committee to get it right and for the builder to make its client satisfied.

     Earlier plans were reviewed, item by line item. For the Oldsmar truck, this involved 18 pages of preliminary layout drawings and line item lists. Details included basics like confirmation as to which chassis and cab would be used, engine size, transmission, turning radius, calculated vehicle weight, decals and any additions or deletions of items that were included in earlier planning. A drawing of the truck was available so each member of the committee could better visualize it and make a final determination.

     One change made during the pre-build conference involved storage for backboards. The committee added doors on both sides of the vehicle so the crew could access the two backboards from either side of the truck, although they would mainly be working from the curb side.

     Another change was to subtract the keypad keyless entry the committee had originally ordered. They did not feel that the $1,200 cost was justified, so they ordered a key fob entry with electric locks instead.

The Building Process
     The contract went to ambulance manufacturer Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc. in Winter Park, FL. Constructing the truck took four to five months. During construction, the wrong chassis was delivered to the manufacturer, but it caused no real delay because other building tasks could be accomplished while they were waiting for the correct chassis.

     When the truck was finished, members of the department visited the plant before taking possession. All committee members conducted the delivery inspection. Only one cracked light lens was found and corrected. The only after-delivery add-on made by the department was to have the key fob entry disconnected from the truck's narcotics locker and a regular key lock installed.

The Finished Vehicle
     The completed advanced life support vehicle was built on an International 4300 Extended Cab chassis, with cab-to-module mounting. It included International custom suspension, an International DT466 245-horsepower engine, upgraded front axle for the extended cab and an Allison 3000EVS transmission. The committee was pleased to discover that the bigger, sturdier size didn't cost a lot more.

     Attached to the cab was an International 170" custom module with fiberglass headliner and various cabinets and flooring. The vehicle came equipped with Whelen emergency lights, speakers, a Federal Signal electronic Q-Siren that is promoted as providing a more recognizable sound from a longer distance, and switching options for the siren and air horn.

     For safety, the rear of the truck used reflective chevron-striped warning lines-all done by a custom decal-maker. This makes the truck more visible to the public when stopped in the roadway.

     Because the floor of the vehicle is high off the ground, an air dump system was added. This allows an operator at the back of the vehicle to lower the rear of the module with the touch of a button, making it easier to unload and load the gurney at an emergency. As a safety precaution, the air release only works when the vehicle is in neutral or park and when the parking brake is set. The truck came with hinged "opening doors," which were left as is, since roll-up doors came at a higher price.

     The entire extended cab area behind the driver and passenger seats is used for storage. Boxes of maps are currently stored there, but there is room for other items. Storage compartments accessed from the sides of the module were positioned to make the most of unused space. Two compartments in the rear wheel wells on each side of the truck are used to store self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) tanks and oxygen tanks.

     The unit came with a load manager. When the vehicle is on a scene, it automatically begins shutting down things like insignificant lights, etc., to keep from draining its electrical system.

     Technicians at Wheeled Coach installed the power cable for the rescue truck's computer and radio, but the radio shop did the installations. The computer allows the crew to see their call on the screen and locate it using a mapping system. The rescue truck's computer gives the crew members access to its own pre-fire plans, hazmat information and location information for special-needs persons.

     The committee felt that, for safety's sake, the more lights on the vehicle, the better. Exterior warning and directional lighting systems include additional amber lights for better visibility in daylight.

     A window between the cab and the back of the rescue truck allow items to be passed between crew members. A headphone system ensures that crew members can communicate with each other in the front and also between the front and back without background noise. The crew can also reach the medical director or medical control officer at the county dispatch center and be patched through to the hospital to let staff know they will be arriving.

Looking Ahead
     With Rescue 54 now in service, the city will budget to add three more firefighter/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics to the department. This will allow both the engine and the rescue to be staffed around the clock.

     Because of the care their fire officials took in selecting a vehicle that would best serve their needs, the citizens of Oldsmar are safer than ever before.

     Jim Weiss and Mickey Davis are writers specializing in safety-forces issues and technology, and have had more than 100 articles published in law enforcement and emergency services magazines. Jim is a retired lieutenant from the Brook Park, OH, Police Department and a former state of Florida investigator. Mickey is a Florida-based writer and author of an award-winning novel.