Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 21/01) - You may have seen the firehall's shiny new ambulance rushing around town.

If you step inside the new ambulance and then take a peek inside the other two, you'll notice quite a difference.

The interior of the new ambulance -- it cost $145,000 with equipment -- is considerably larger and can more easily accommodate two patients.

The older vans are smaller, and packed with equipment.

"If we have to do a trauma call. it gets really cramped and the guys bump into each other," said deputy fire chief of operations, Sandy McPhee, of the older vans.

The new design also includes storage cabinets on the exterior for wheelchairs, stretchers, stabilization devices and other equipment.

The cabinets both create space inside and save valuable time.

With the older vehicles, paramedics hop out the front and rush around to retrieve equipment from the back.

Now they just grab what they need quickly from the outside.

But the new ambulance's best feature is the modular box. When the chassis wears out, the box can be upgraded and moved to a new chassis.

McPhee says the lifespan of an ambulance is usually about 12 years. This lengthens its life expectancy to between 21 and 24 years, and saves money in the long run.

The firehall has three ambulances and responds to about 1,700 calls each year.

The new ambulance was broken in two weeks ago when paramedics delivered a baby in the back.