The Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District has received four autoloaders and two cots for its medic units, thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“As far as I know we were the last one in the area to get them, because they’re very expensive,” paramedic/firefighter Josh Marvin said.
The cots slide in and out of ambulances at the push of a button, whereas firefighters previously had to haul them manually.
“These take all the lifting off of our personnel,” Marvin said. “We’re not having to lift the patient and hurt our backs and do all that sort of stuff.”
FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters grant paid for 95% of the cots’ cost, which totaled $227,091. SHFAD was on the hook for the other 5%, or $10,814.
The autoloaders are built by Stryker, the same company that supplied the department’s old cots. Stryker bought those back, covering installation costs for the new ones.
They went into service about two weeks ago.
“They’re super nice,” Marvin said. “It saves our backs and lessens our risks for injury, which is awesome for us.”
He also noted that the cots’ batteries charge in the medic unit, lessening staff concerns about dead batteries.