Second Ambulance Increases Coverage

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Rural Fire District (District) received their new Type 1 ambulance in mid-July. The ambulance was put into service July 30 and will be the first unit to respond. The District is retaining the old ambulance as the secondary ambulance. It will be used during "call collisions," when another call comes in when the first ambulance is already on a call, and be available when the first ambulance is being used.

Seeley Lake Fire Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel has voiced the need for a second ambulance since becoming chief in 2014. The District covers 350 square miles including response to Helmville, Ovando, Potomac and will go as far north as Condon if needed. Vanden Heuvel estimates as least 90 percent of the calls are medical and many require transport. It is not legal to transport a patient in anything other than a certified transporting ambulance.

"When an ambulance begins transport of a patient they are bound by law to get that person to the other end. Whether it is rendezvousing with another service that has the same or higher level of care or transporting that patient all the way to the hospital," said Vanden Heuvel. "I can't tell you how many hours this town has been without an ambulance because I've been transporting, we've got to Potomac or Ovando or we have had repairs."

Vanden Heuvel explained that in the past they would often meet another ambulance or transport the patient by air all the way into Missoula. "We are leaving our town uncovered if we don't. With the second ambulance I don't see us rendezvousing as much."

The second ambulance will be available for the next call when one ambulance is used for standby at the incident such as a structure fire. It also allows medical responders to transport patients at different times during extrication and during incidents with multiple patients.

"Often one patient is free and the other is 30 minutes away from being extricated," said Vanden Heuvel. "Do you sit on the scene with that one ambulance or do you load and go? [In the case of multiple patients] Now we have a warm place to put them and do assessments and if there is a serious one, we can get them rolling. "

Vanden Heuvel said in the past they would send the ambulance to rendezvous with Missoula Emergency Services Incorporated (MESI) and turn around quickly or wait.

Currently the District has 15 volunteer EMTs and 11 volunteer firefighters. At least one licensed EMT is required to be in the back of the ambulance with the patient and the person driving must also be at least a certified Emergency Medical Responder (EMR).

The District has been given a waiver for the summer to transport with a trained firefighter driver and at least an EMT in the back. Vanden Heuvel is working to get a permanent waiver.

"I would rather have to work hard to staff [the second ambulance] by getting [volunteer] EMTs and recruiting people than have the staff and not have what they need to do the job," said Vanden Heuvel. "I think a good percentage of the time we will be able to staff a second ambulance."

The new Type I ambulance was purchased with a Montana Department of Natural Resources (MDT) grant. The grant covered 90 percent of the $210,000 leaving the District to cover $21,000 plus extras totaling around $25,000. It is a four-wheel drive, Ford 4500 diesel equipped with a Stryker Power pro/power load system. It has drop chains for winter driving, liquid air suspension that aids in patient comfort and extra safety nets for the responders making this ambulance "state of the art." Vanden Heuvel worked with the volunteers and the board to help determine what features they wanted in the ambulance.

From Memorial Day weekend through the first week in August, the volunteers have responded to 55 medical calls. Since the new ambulance went into service July 30, there have been 10 medical calls and twice they have had to roll the second ambulance, the first call collision coming within five hours of putting the new ambulance in service for two serious to critical patients.

Both ambulances will be automatically dispatched for head-on car accidents, any motor vehicle accidents with an unknown number of patients and gunshot calls. For any other calls, it is up to the discretion of the officer in charge.

"Myself, the staff and all of the volunteers care deeply about the well-being of the taxpayers and the people in our district. We care about their lives and their property. Kudos to the old veterans that decided to put an ambulance up here years ago," said Vanden Heuvel. "We have reached a point where call volume, [distance to definitive care, size of the district, and call collisions] to me indicate a need for the second ambulance."

For those interested in volunteering with the District and becoming an EMT, contact Chief Vanden Heuvel. The District will be holding an Emergency First Responder class in Seeley Lake starting Oct. 18.

 

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