City takes the leap into the next generation
Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 10/01) - The life of Medic 1 is ending after 12 years of attending emergencies in the city.
Replacing the 1988 van hightop ambulance will be a brand new "modular" ambulance, bringing Yellowknife in line with other cities of similar size.
"We've been using a van-style body ambulance for over 10 years, but with new technology, training and the service expected in Yellowknife, it's time for us to go to a new model," said Deputy Fire Chief Operations Sandy McPhee. The new ambulance will run the fire department about $150,000 and should be in operation by this summer.
During the last 10 years the number of medical emergency calls has more than doubled, rising from 800 calls in 1989 to 1,650 calls in 1999.
Because the new unit will be larger -- the back end will be oversized rather than a standard van -- it will be able to accommodate up to three patients and still provide the necessary elbow room to administer life-saving services. "One of the biggest advantages of the modular ambulance is that it has a much larger interior space for us to perform everything from basic trauma life-support, cardiac monitoring and defibrillation and intravenous therapy," said McPhee.
The communities of Hay River, Rae-Edzo, Fort Smith and Fort Simpson already have the modular ambulances.
Yellowknife has three van-style ambulances that serve the city on a 12-year cycle.
The newest machine is the first called out to emergencies. It stays on the front line for four years before being bumped to second call and replaced by a new unit.
After four years on second call, the ambulance is moved to third call and after another four years it is retired.
McPhee says the modular ambulance will likely withstand eight years on the front line and can be refurbished at 60-70 per cent of the cost of a new machine.
The retired ambulances are "disposed" of, either tendered out through the City or sold to another community.
