Members of the Romulus City Council unanimously approved the lease of a new ambulance for use by the fire department.
The lease, for a total cost of $209,902 during four years, will include a power lift load system, officials said, which will reduce risks to firefighters when loading patients into the ambulance, and a stretcher.
“With the power lift load system, the firefighters don't have to lift patients, the lift connects to the stretcher,” a fire department officials explained.
The lease will begin with the first payment in May of 2022 at 2.4 percent interest and at the end of the lease, the city will own the vehicle. The city currently has three rescue vehicles, two purchased in 2004 and then refurbished in 2014.
“The refurbishing was a Band Aid to get us through. We knew it would only last two to three years,” explained Deputy Chief Kevin Krause. The city purchased an ambulance about two years ago, allowing the department to take one of the refurbished units into a standby mode. With this fourth vehicle, one of the refurbished units will be retired into reserve status. Department officials hope to purchase another ambulance next year, Krause noted.
Currently, the Romulus Fire Department provides transport to hospitals of non-critical patients while relying on an outside service to provide Advanced Life Support and transport of critical patients. With the new ambulances in place, Krause said, the department is moving toward being able to transport all patients as part of the emergency service the city provides.
