Quieter, better-handling ambulances roll through Lee

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FORT MYERS, Fla. Seconds count in an emergency. And so do decibels.

Lee County is in the midst of rolling out new ambulances equipped with quieter engines that allow better communication between patients and EMTs. They also have sensors that can prevent a collision, have cameras that allow the patient compartment to be monitored from the cab, and get better gas mileage.

The county allocated about $1 million for an order of six new ambulances this year through its vehicle replacement fund in the budget approved April 18.

When those Sprinter 3500 TraumaHawks arrive this summer, more than half the county’s fleet of 55 ambulances will have the new technology.

“People want to know that the government is making efficient and wise choices with the taxpayers’ money,” Lee County Public Safety Director Rob Farmer said.

The TraumaHawks, at $170,000 apiece, are less expensive than the $240,000 model they’re replacing, according the county. They also cost less to maintain.

Lee County EMT Alicia Gagne is fond of the quieter ride.

“They’re quiet, so if I’m trying to talk to a patient, I can hear them,” she said. “We don’t have to yell over the big diesel engine.”

The TraumaHawk also has a diesel engine, but the Mercedes frame it hauls isn’t as big as the ones in models it’s replacing. It handles much more like a minivan than a large truck because it’s smaller and weighs less, the county said.

The county cycles through its fleet every six or seven years, Farmer said. It’s all a part of an effort to make a tough job slightly easier.

“Regardless of what vehicle we’re in, we’re always going to respond with due diligence and we’re going to get there and do everything we have to do,” Gagne said.

WINK News reporter Channing Frampton shows the new ambulances inside and out:

 

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