# How are your ambulances secured?



## MMiz (Mar 31, 2005)

I'm wondering how everyone does it.  We have a large ambulance bay for several of our Critical Care / ALS rigs, but I know everyone doesn't have that luxury.

Some of you FD folks have fancy bays for all your rigs, but I haven't seen one in a private EMS company.


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## rescuecpt (Mar 31, 2005)

Both of my vollie stations have bays.  At the FD we hope no one breaks in and takes them.  At the Corps we have a dispatcher there (as a minimum) 24/7.  We hope no one breaks in and takes the rigs and the dispatcher.  HEHE.


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## TTLWHKR (Mar 31, 2005)

They have GPS so the dispatcher can guide us or we can do it ourselves. Even if the console is disabled, the transmitter is in an empty box of gauze bandages in a compartment in the back so nobody will think of removing it. Hopefully before the numbnutz that stole it figures out where it is, the police will have a GPS coordinates and hang them by their scrawny little.... um.. never mind.


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## daemonicusxx (Apr 2, 2005)

> _Originally posted by rescuecpt_@Mar 31 2005, 11:40 AM
> * Both of my vollie stations have bays.  At the FD we hope no one breaks in and takes them.  At the Corps we have a dispatcher there (as a minimum) 24/7.  We hope no one breaks in and takes the rigs and the dispatcher.  HEHE. *


 leave my rig, take my dispatcher. you can have him!!! had a bad experience the other day with a dispacther. all we do is lock the boxes. we work out of an old drive through bank, the shopping center that its located in has 24/7 security so we dont worry too much about it.


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## SCEMT-B (Apr 2, 2005)

It all depends on where you are with ym company since we are state wide. the magority of our stations dont ahve bays just a parking lot. We keep anywhere from 2 to 12 ambulances ata station, it all depends on the need. The two stations where I live both have bays but you can only fit two ambulances in them. The rest at our main station in the area has 12 ambulances, 2 in the bay the rest inthe lot. The station Im at we have two and they go in th bay.


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## Jon (Apr 3, 2005)

My one squad has 7 bays - 6 for apparatus and a dedicated Decon bay. Currently we have 4 Ambulances, supervisors truck, and coroner's transport truck parked inside. Sometimes the medics' car is parked in the decon bay when they choose to "hang out" at the station. When our 5th ambulance comes back from being rebuilt, its' twin will go out. Eventually we will have 5 rigs and the supervisor truck inside, and the coroners' van will park outside, in camera view, next to the old conversion van the training institute uses to store their practical turnout gear and other "stuff." I don't think we've ever lost trucks from the station. The supervisor's truck has an ignition override, installed after the old truck was "borrowed" from the resturant festival.

My other squad is short bays - the Fire Police van and Utility (old beater van for people and stuff transport) sit on the front apron. The Squad (pretty new F350) is inside a bay next to the ambulance, and all the fire apparatus (with water onboard) fits inside the nice warm bays.

No ignition override on anything but the supervisor's vehicle - we sometimes will leave someone with the truck if we can't shut it off (weak batteries)

My one parttime job has a parking lot under a camera visible in the office. All the rigs have ignition overrides and alarms on their trucks. They don't lose trucks, but they keep on loosing the hubcaps overnight.  

Jon


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## Jon (Apr 3, 2005)

Most other private co's in the area use standard ambulances - few rigs with ignition override, fewer with alarms. most co's don't have bays, or they have a garage for repairs, but not for ambulances. My one Co had me working out of a hospital-based transport contract - our trucks were parked on side streets, and at night (when all our trucks were back at the hospital) we parked up to 3 in the ED's Valet lot, they had to be out by like 8am. 

most of the "larger" private co's have bays at *some *of their bases, for *some *of their trucks - often they have leased space with some bay doors and storage-type space, so they park rigs inside, espically when it is cold out.

Jon


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## SCEMT-B (Apr 4, 2005)

> _Originally posted by MedicStudentJon_@Apr 3 2005, 09:23 AM
> * most of the "larger" private co's have bays at some of their bases, for some of their trucks - often they have leased space with some bay doors and storage-type space, so they park rigs inside, espically when it is cold out. *


 We don't put them in the bay cause its cold outside. We put them there cause a cat 3 or higher Hurricain is on the way


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## emtchicky156 (Apr 4, 2005)

we have two bays for our 3 ambulances and our crash truck. There is usually someone there all the time fire chief and billings clerk during the day and then whoever "hangs out".


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## KEVD18 (Apr 28, 2005)

well in ma, if we dont pull em inside, all the fluids that can freeze, do! so we have bays for all the in service rigs. if we post a truck out of service for more than a day or two and its cold out, we'll empty that freezables and then stick it out in the breeze


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## TTLWHKR (Apr 29, 2005)

They're insured... Rip out the damn StarCom and offer it to some guy standing on a street corner selling misc junk. Tell the guy he has to either wreck it, burn it, or push it in the river. Trade it for a sharp object, hit each other with it... and tell the cops the rig was stolen. Then you just keep on doing that till you get the rig w/ the CD Player.  :blink:


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## Jon (Apr 30, 2005)

> _Originally posted by KEVD18_@Apr 28 2005, 07:48 PM
> * well in ma, if we dont pull em inside, all the fluids that can freeze, do! so we have bays for all the in service rigs. if we post a truck out of service for more than a day or two and its cold out, we'll empty that freezables and then stick it out in the breeze *


 My parents once told me that thier local FD, back in the day, left a firetruck at the garage for an engine issue. They explained to the garage all about the whole issue of water in engine, not antifreeze, because truck is always inside. (In Suburban Boston). Garage did not drain the engine, engine block cracked, garage paid to put new engine in.


Jon


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## TTLWHKR (May 1, 2005)

If you want to see something really neat; let a pumper sit in the cold w/ out draining the tank or the pump and allow it to freeze! Easy to replace an engine, try to replace a 2,551gpm Hale pump and 2500gal Poly Tank. Nearly the whole truck has to come apart. That happened to us; the tank froze at the scene of a fire and snapped the hose bed in half; buckled the side of truck. We heard a snap as the overflow valve blew off and landed 80+/- feet away. The ladders flew off, the compartments popped open at the same time the air packs fell out, flashlights fell out, and finally a Storz relief valve blew off the truck... water was running out all of the compartments. The pump chamber was cracked, all of the pipes were cracked, the butterflyvalve was bent and the electrical system was destoryed. When the pump blew up, it was in active pump gear and still set on auto throttle of 150lbs. Problem was the pump was full, tank was full, and nobody was using the hoses that were pulled off. Classic pump operators error. When the hoses were shut down, the pump gear should have been deactivated and master drains opened. The result of the explosion ruined the entire truck. It would have cost more to rebuild it than to buy a new one. It was totaled "due to forces caused by nature".

It was a spectacular site, I'm glad the pump operator wasn't anywhere near the truck; he probably would have been killed when the storz valve blew off.


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## Jon (May 2, 2005)

> _Originally posted by TTLWHKR_@May 1 2005, 12:36 AM
> * If you want to see something really neat; let a pumper sit in the cold w/ out draining the tank or the pump and allow it to freeze! Easy to replace an engine, try to replace a 2,551gpm Hale pump and 2500gal Poly Tank. Nearly the whole truck has to come apart. That happened to us; the tank froze at the scene of a fire and snapped the hose bed in half; buckled the side of truck. We heard a snap as the overflow valve blew off and landed 80+/- feet away. The ladders flew off, the compartments popped open at the same time the air packs fell out, flashlights fell out, and finally a Storz relief valve blew off the truck... water was running out all of the compartments. The pump chamber was cracked, all of the pipes were cracked, the butterflyvalve was bent and the electrical system was destoryed. When the pump blew up, it was in active pump gear and still set on auto throttle of 150lbs. Problem was the pump was full, tank was full, and nobody was using the hoses that were pulled off. Classic pump operators error. When the hoses were shut down, the pump gear should have been deactivated and master drains opened. The result of the explosion ruined the entire truck. It would have cost more to rebuild it than to buy a new one. It was totaled "due to forces caused by nature".
> 
> It was a spectacular site, I'm glad the pump operator wasn't anywhere near the truck; he probably would have been killed when the storz valve blew off. *


 LMAO, except for the "guy could have been killed" part.


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## SafetyPro2 (May 5, 2005)

Our station has a two-wide bay with doors at both ends, but its long (and was added onto at one time after originally built in the 70s). One side has an engine and the ladder truck, the other has two engines and the back-up ambulance. The back-up ambo points out the rear door so that it can respond without moving anything...the other apparatus all go out the front.

The primary ambulance is parked on the front apron when its at the station (weekdays and other times), either in front of side with the 2 engines (the other engine is first out) or to the side of that (depending on if the BC car is parked there). The rest of the time, its at the home of whomever is staffing it. Only time its ever parked inside is if we have an engine out of service and a spare spot in the bay.


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