'Much-needed': What to know about the Gardner Fire Department's new ambulance

Officials at the Gardner Fire Department are preparing to debut a new and “much-needed” vehicle to the city’s emergency services fleet.

The department’s new front-line ambulance will soon replace a 2018 model that has served the city well for the past six years, and transported an estimated 10,000 patients to area hospitals, according to Chief Greg Lagoy.

“It is definitely showing wear and tear from the heavy use,” Lagoy explained, adding the ambulance has around 100,000 miles on it. “The recommended service life for ambulances is 10 years, with the first five years as front-line service, followed by five years as a reserve unit.”

Due to supply chain issues and related delivery delays, the old ambulance served as a front-line unit for six years, about a year or so longer than recommended, Lagoy said.

A front-line ambulance is a primary truck that the department staffs and uses daily, while the reserve unit is only used when the primary vehicle is out of service due to maintenance, Lagoy said.

How much a new ambulance cost and why

The department’s new ambulance, a 2024 Ford F550 four-wheel drive, was purchased from Greenwood Emergency Vehicles in Attleboro. It will have a final cost of $320,000 once fully outfitted with the necessary equipment.

The new vehicle was designed to be nearly identical to the department’s current ambulance, according to Lagoy.

“At the beginning of the ordering process, we asked firefighters if there were any major design or functional changes they would like to see, and the consensus was to keep the design and layout the same, that everything worked well,” he said. “It is also helpful to keep equipment and supplies in the same spots on both rigs so firefighters don’t have to think about which one they are working on when they need something while treating a patient.”

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Lagoy added his crew wanted to keep the vehicle simple, efficient, and rugged without a lot of fancy add-ons in order to help keep costs, maintenance, and downtime repair time to a minimum.

The new vehicle was delivered to the city on June 15, Lagoy said. Before the city began using it, the ambulance needed to be undercoated for protection from rust and corrosion. This is standard practice in Gardner for all of the department’s new vehicles to extend their usage lifetime.

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“After that, we will have radios installed, then all loose equipment and supplies added,” he said.

After the inspection and licensing process by the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services is complete, officials expect the new ambulance to go into service by the beginning of August.

More emergency vehicles to be added to GFD fleet soon

Meanwhile, the department is awaiting the arrival of two new emergency vehicles for its fleet. A new engine and a heavy rescue truck are in production at a factory in Pennsylvania and are scheduled to be completed by early September, according to Lagoy.

“We are hoping to have them both in the city before the end of September, with training for Gardner firefighters to follow, prior to being placed into service,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Gardner Fire Department's new ambulance unveiled: How it will help