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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: April 7, 2015 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 6-j <br />1 <br />SUBJECT: Replacement <br />Ambulance for Orange <br />County Emergency Services <br />DEPARTMENT: <br />Emergency Services <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) <br />No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Attachment 1: FESCO Quote Jim Groves, 919 - 245 -6140 <br />Attachment 2: Dare to Compare Safety Jeff Thompson, 919 - 245 -2658 <br />Brochure <br />PURPOSE: To approve the purchase on one (1) ambulance that will replace a 2007 model <br />ambulance manufactured by Wheeled Coach. <br />BACKGROUND: In 2008 the Orange County ambulance fleet was struggling to sustain the <br />increasing call volume and mileage requirements with the existing vehicles. Emergency <br />Services (ES) staff approached Asset Management Services (AMS) to develop a long term <br />solution. ES and AMS agreed that a medium duty chassis and drive train (engine and <br />transmission) was critical to compensate for increasing call volume, mileage, and corresponding <br />on -scene idling during calls. The recommended solution was the purchase of medium duty <br />ambulances on the Freightliner chassis. These units have been provided by Excellance, Inc. <br />from Madison, Alabama. <br />After reflecting on the long term ambulance fleet recommendation, ES staff believes that there <br />were unforeseen complications with the previous recommendation. The medium duty <br />ambulances do not have airbags for the driver and passenger and the operation of the vehicles <br />is difficult in winter precipitation. They also provide a harsh ride for the patients and the <br />anticipation of reduced maintenance cost has not met the County's expectations. <br />To identify an alternate fleet solution, the ES Director developed an ambulance sub - committee <br />that was charged with identifying an ambulance that would provide for the safety of staff, <br />provide a comfortable ride for patients, be extremely reliable, have local maintenance <br />capabilities, and not require auxiliary chains for winter precipitation. The ambulance sub- <br />committee considered four (4) vendors, and eventually narrowed the field to three (3) vendors. <br />This was accomplished by reviewing specifications, by the vendors providing vehicles for staff <br />to test drive, by visiting EMS organizations that utilized fleet vehicles from the vendors, and by <br />considering work performance and references provided by the vendor customers. <br />