“I think it’s a great addition to the fire department fleet for the citizens of Salem,” Chief Scott Mason said.

He expects to put the new vehicle into service Wednesday afternoon.

For a long time now, the department has been responding via fire engine to all medical calls in the city as a service to its citizens, to ensure they get emergency medical care quickly.

Mason explained that with the ambulance, they’ll continue responding to medical calls as they’ve been doing. Now, though, they’ll respond in an ambulance instead of an engine and have the option to transport a patient in a life or death situation instead of waiting for an out-of-town ambulance if KLG or EMT can’t get there.

This is the interior of the Salem Fire Department’s new ambulance, Squad 6. (Salem News photo by Mary Ann Greier)

KLG and EMT are the two private ambulance companies with locations in the city. They respond to emergencies, but also serve nursing homes for transport and sometimes they’re unavailable, requiring the city to call squads from the Damascus or Green Township fire departments.

In the case of Salem’s Squad 6, the number assigned the new ambulance, when there’s a medical call, if the first private company called isn’t available, then dispatch will call the second private company. If neither is available, the city will transport.

“It’s a backup resource to make sure there’s an ambulance in town. We’ll try to plug the gaps when there’s not an ambulance available,” Mason said.

He estimated the ambulance will transport only a handful of times each month, but will get used every time there’s a medical, and that’s a majority of the department’s calls.

He said that’s going to save quite a bit on wear and tear for the engine, and likely some financial savings, too, on fuel since the engines use diesel and the ambulance uses gasoline and will get better gas mileage.

Firefighters helped design the look of the new ambulance, incorporating the American flag on the sides and in the rear windows. (Salem News photo by Mary Ann Greier)

In May, out of 175 calls, 111 were medicals. He’s expecting similar numbers each month.

“That’s 111 times the engine won’t have to go out,” he said.

The department actually had a test run with an ambulance last year when CARES Act funds were used to rent one for a few months for $9,000 as a precaution due to the pandemic. The city wasn’t sure what was going to happen, whether the private ambulances would be inundated with calls from COVID, so they rented an ambulance to have it on hand.

From April 8 to July 8, the ambulance responded to 315 calls and did 26 transports of patients when KLG or EMT weren’t available.

The city spent $135,000 from Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds to purchase the 2022 Ford E450 Super Duty Osage ambulance from Myers Equipment in Canfield. An additional $8,700 was paid for sirens, extra equipment wiring, paint and graphics. The digital mobile radio still needs installed at an estimated cost of $2,500 to $2,800.

The department already had a cot to use and all the medical equipment and supplies on Engine 2 will be moved into Squad 6, including the LUCAS device which does chest compressions and a heart monitor/defibrillator machine which can also read carbon monoxide levels and oxygen levels.

Mason said they’ll also carry a combination cutter/spreader tool (commonly known as the Jaws) and possibly air packs.

Current staffing will man the ambulance, with two firefighters assigned per shift on a rotating basis, that way everybody gets to ride the ambulance. The remaining two or three firefighters on shift will stay at the station to respond to fire calls and whoever’s on ambulance will have their gear with them in case of a fire. They’ll be able to respond if necessary after caring for their patient.

All firefighters in the department have EMT certification, with 13 EMTs and three certified as both EMTs and medics.

Insurance will be billed through Life Force Management Inc., which is the company that does the billing for ambulance companies and fire departments using University Hospital for medical direction.

Salem switched to University Hospital a few years ago for medical direction and receives supplies and drugs for medical calls as part of the deal, along with training.

If it wasn’t for the CARES Act funding, Mason said they probably wouldn’t have the ambulance. Firefighters helped with the look of the squad, wanting the American flag incorporated into the design.

mgreier@salemnews.net