by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Ambulance Squad picked up its new ambulance from Cromwell Emergency Vehicles in Clifton Park on Friday, September 4, and drove it to Petersburgh. The lettering was put on it on Friday afternoon, and Adam Griswold was putting decals on it when we stopped by to take a picture.
Three radios still need to be installed into the vehicle before it can be put into service. Griswold said he expects that will be done by Friday, September 11, and on that day they will transfer all the supplies from the old ambulance and put the new one in service.
This ambulance is a 2005 Osage Ambulance on a Ford E-450 chassis. It was used as a demo by Cromwell for four years but has never been used for patient care. It has 19,000 miles on it.
The price of the new ambulance was $101,000. Griswold said he wanted to thank the Town of Petersburgh and Taconic Plastics for generous donations towards the cost of the ambulance which made the purchase possible.
The ambulance is bigger and more powerful than the old one. The box on the old one was 148 inches, and the new one is 172 inches long. The old one was on a E-350 chassis, while the new one is an E-450. It also has some features which are an improvement over the old ambulance such as a hydraulic lift for the big oxygen tank that is mounted on the side, a heated blanket compartment and sonar for backing up. A power stretcher is soon to be delivered, which will make it easier to lift a heavy patient into the ambulance.
Griswold said the Ambulance Squad’s night time and weekend coverage is very good right now. They have 11 people on their roster of volunteers. He said they don’t have regular crews on call during the day but their beepers still go off and if they can respond, they do. He said Berlin, Grafton and Petersburgh, which all have similar problems with daytime coverage, back each other up and if none of the three can roll, then a professional ambulance is called, usually Mohawk from Brunswick.
The Petersburgh Ambulance Squad will be holding an Open House at the Squad House on Saturday, October 10, at 2 pm to show the new ambulance to the community. Mark your calendars and come see the beautiful new ambulance!