Here We Grow Again

Today we've got another addition to the ESD 47/ Westlake family and this time it's twins! Twin new ambulances that is. We have just received delivery of two spanking new ambulances to update our already "best there is" fleet of emergency apparatus. They are Type I style with a fourteen foot Frazier emergency medical cubicle mounted on a Ford F-450 chassis. They were due to arrive in mid-May but were delivered six weeks early.

These are larger than our previous twelve foot box models. The larger size better accommodates a second paramedic or fire fighter who rides with the ambulance to assist with patient care on the way to the hospital. Because ambulances of today have available to them more technology and advanced equipment than ever before, an ambulance can almost be a mini emergency room. Westlake's are certainly that.

A few months back, I wrote about the '70s tv show Emergency! Back then, an ambulance was a convenient vehicle to transport a patient to a hospital where care was begun. Today, patient care begins upon patient contact and continues while in route to the hospital emergency room where the patient is handed over to hospital emergency room doctors and staff.

Westlake Fire Department has responded to almost 3600 total dispatches for each of the past three years. Of those, the ambulance was part of the response an average of 86% of the time. So you see Westlake ambulances rack up a lot of mileage along with wear and tear. These vehicles were a top need of Westlake so that the ESD47/Westlake commitment to you, the community, remains at the highest possible level. I've included a few photos of our new twins. Look for them on the streets of ESD 47.

In February, I wrote about the on going ISO audit at Westlake. The report is in and next month I'll be sharing what we found when we went in search of a great ISO.

Until then, stay safe.

Brian Havran