Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District is preparing its new ambulance for use in its fleet after work has been completed on the unit.
The ambulance is a remount of a box from an old Ford chassis with a broken-down 6-liter diesel engine.
Braun Ambulances of Van Wert, Ohio, has remounted the box on a new gasoline-powered Ford 450 chassis, said Battalion Chief Shannon Pettner.
The unit, which sports the district’s new official red and black color scheme, will serve initially as the first-out ambulance as it is broken in before replacing the third-out Chevrolet, which has high mileage, maintenance issues and suspension problems that it’s had since the district purchased the ambulance.
After the break-in period, the district’s blue 2011 Chevrolet Duramax, purchased in 2015, will return to its first-out position, while a four-wheel-drive ambulance, funded primarily by a donation by a citizen and purchased in 2015, will continue in the second-out position.
The idea is to concentrate mileage on a single ambulance, allowing for better rotation than the way the district had been doing it, Pettner said. The district had been increasing mileage across the fleet, causing ambulances to reach higher mileage at the same time.
The new ambulance was funded by a six-year $1.575 million bond approved by voters in May 2016. The bond measure took effect as the district paid off a previous bond. The cost was $104,000.
The district had planned to purchase another ambulance later in the term of the bond measure, Pettner said, but it has begun the process of ordering another new four-wheel-drive ambulance because the fourth-out four-wheel-drive is in rough shape.
That ambulance also has a small box, and paramedics find working in it difficult.
Also, as part of the bond, the district also has ordered and is awaiting deliver of new self-contained breathing apparatus for $267,000. The district’s current equipment is reaching the end of its certified life cycle.
Work continues on a new water tender. Ochoco Manufacturing Corporation of Prineville is mounting a tank on a used chassis purchased from the National Guard.
The district is also replacing its light-duty rescue vehicle, a 1993 Ford called Rescue 25, with a new chassis and a rescue box donated by the Mowhawk Fire District. Hughes Fire of Springfield is mounting the box and installing equipment. Fire Chief Dave Barringer expects the rig to cost less than $120,000.
The district is also in the process of purchasing a new incident command response vehicle for use by battalion chiefs. The district is looking for a more flexible vehicle that can handle the variety of situations that battalion chiefs face as the first emergency responders on the scene of an emergency.
Heather Harris, a local residential remodeling specialist who operates Heather Harris Design, has donated plans for the addition of a bay at the Foster Substation, Pettner said.
Next, the district will meet with city officials before proceeding with construction, said Heather Harris, who is married to Battalion Chief Eli Harris.
Afterward, Harris will begin working on plans for remodeling the living quarters at the Fire Hall.
While the district has been replacing equipment with bond funds, it has been pursuing additional funding for staffing, securing a three-year $339,000 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The district has hired two new full-time firefighter-paramedics, J.T. Weld and Scott Moehlmann. Weld has been a part-time paramedic since August 2015. Moehlmann did his paramedic internship with Sweet Home and currently works for Pacific West Ambulance. Weld has started work, and Moehlmann will start in December.
They will work daily shifts to support the three 24-hour shifts during the daytime when call loads are highest.
The grant partially funds the positions for three years, decreasing over the term of the grant, Pettner said.
“Our goal is to not only be able to pay these salaries without a grant but to add a third.”