The Kenai Fire Department is preparing to gain another ambulance so responders will always be guaranteed two working ambulances.
Tucker: “It’s a normal course of progression to purchase new apparatus. What we’re going to do is we’re going to purchase a new ambulance and then take one of our older ambulances, currently we have two, and put it in our reserve status. So then we’ll have three operational ambulances within the department; two of them will be front line apparatus and the third will like I said be a reserve apparatus. Currently our procedures are that after a second call out, if we have two ambulances busy and we get a third call, we’ll get our neighboring departments to come back us up.”
Fire Chief Jeff Tucker said the third ambulance will be around in the case of one needing maintenance or if one goes out of commission for whatever reason.
As far as design goes, he said the new ambulance will look much like their other ambulances.
Tucker: “A little bit more head room in the ambulance but other than that it’s a pretty standard ambulance design based on our previous ambulances, sot he technology is not changing all that much other than it’s got a 2015 chassis on it.”
Tucker said crews took out the department’s new rescue boat for a test run today and are excited to have improved rescue capabilities on hand for when summer gets busy.
