FEATURED THIS WEEK
Grand Avenue Landscaping in Motion
Landscaping on Grand Avenue has commenced! The crews will install up to two medians per day and should be wrapped up by the end of next week.
Escondido Shines in Top Regional Publication
Visit Escondido has a great marketing relationship with Southern California Media Group. Part of the City’s coverage includes placement in the annual Where Guestbook San Diego. This is a gorgeous, award-winning, hard-cover piece that is placed exclusively in 17,000+ upscale hotel rooms and reaches over 2 million hotel guests staying in San Diego’s top properties each year.
A SPECIAL REPORT FROM CHIEF VOGT
The Escondido Fire Department will soon have two new ambulances on the road!
The Fire Department provides paramedic ambulance service using a fleet of five front line and four reserve ambulances. Normally, the expected lifespan of an ambulance is about seven years. Last year, it was determined that two of our ambulances that were built in 2010 needed to be replaced due to excessive engine hours, mileage and repair downtime. Both of the ambulances that will be replaced have over 150,000 miles.
Purchasing a new ambulance is quite a process. Each one is designed and built to the needs of the agency. Our ambulances need to be durable, provide adequate supply and equipment storage, provide the room for our paramedics to work, be comfortable for our patients, and be cost efficient. In 2017, a team of personnel from Fleet Services and the Fire Department determined the specifications and design for the new ambulances and selected a vendor using Cooperative Purchase Contract. The cost for the two new ambulances totaled $358,161. The City Council provided funding for these two ambulances when it approved the current budget which included the approval of the “Vehicle Replacement Fund.”
Medix Ambulance, located in Elkhart Indiana, began construction of our ambulances in early 2018. Our new ambulances begin with a diesel engine Ford F 450 cab and chassis. Diesel engines were selected due to their reliability and fuel mileage. Also, diesel fuel is available at the fire stations in addition to the Public Works fuel pumps.
Medix designed and fabricated the patient care compartment which is attached to the chassis. There are hundreds of feet of wires and cables for the electronics, lights and other equipment.
At about the mid-point of construction, Department personnel traveled to the factory to inspect the progress and ensure the manufacturing quality and to confirm that the design has been followed. They returned to the factory for final inspection when the ambulances were complete.
The new ambulances are custom painted with our Department logo and labeling design. Several years ago the Fire Department changed the color of its fire engines, fire trucks and ambulances from white to red. As new vehicles are purchased, they are painted with the new color. Our older vehicles (mostly reserve) are still white.
The ambulances were shipped to a dealership in California for some final touches and then delivered to Escondido in July, 2018. Our Fleet Services mechanics installed radios, mobile data computers and other electronics. The Fire Department is conducting training and orientation with the new ambulances over the next few days.
The new ambulances will be assigned to Station 2 (Midway) and Station 7 (Ash). The ambulances will be stocked with medical supplies, oxygen, and equipment so they will be ready for patients by the end of next week!
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