The Pulaski County Commissioners still aren’t ready to move ahead with an ambulance rental arrangement. Last week, EMS Director Bryan Corn presented more details about the two ambulances that Arrow Manufacturing has available for rent.
“For the 2011 ambulance that was an option to rent, that has 72,000 miles on it,” he said. “The only kicker to that is that’s a gas engine. It’s not a diesel. For us, that would be a minus. The fuel tanks that we have are diesel because all of our trucks run off of diesel.” Meanwhile, Arrow’s 1998 truck has a diesel engine, but already has 145,000 miles.
Commissioner Mike McClure didn’t want Corn to rule out a gasoline ambulance, noting the lower price of gas when compared to diesel. Corn said part of the reason his department generally uses diesel has to do with the trucks’ size and weight. While the EMS Department doesn’t have its own gasoline tank, it was pointed out that the Sheriff’s Department has one nearby.
Under the proposed rental agreement, the EMS Department would pay Arrow a monthly fee, plus an additional mileage cost. Corn said the department would also be responsible for normal maintenance. “So if we’re driving it down the highway one day and all of a sudden, the transmission falls out, that is something that, according to Arrow, they will take care of because in the agreement, they are providing us with a running, functioning ambulance,” Corn explained. “We are just to maintain it and essentially treat it like we would our own trucks.”
In the end, the commissioners asked for more time before making a decision.
Corn also presented some options for leasing a new ambulance. “I contacted two ambulance manufacturers,” he explained. “They gave me the same company, essentially, that they use for a lot of other services, as far as leasing options and things like that. Ironically enough, it’s actually a company out of Rochester. It took me a minute to realize that. I kind of thought I was being pranked for a minute.”
Not only does the company offer ambulances for lease, but also cots, cardiac monitors, and other equipment. Corn hoped to have a company representative come to an upcoming commissioners meeting, to discuss options further.
Discussions on both the rental and the lease options are expected to continue when the commissioners meet on Monday.
