Roy fire station upgrades ambulances with latest technology
Feb 26, 2023, 3:01 PM | Updated: Feb 27, 2023, 7:55 am
ROY, Utah — Roy City Fire and Rescue Station 31 replaced its aging fleet with two new ambulances. And on Saturday, KSL got an inside look at the new ambulances.
The station went into service last week and has already gone out on calls. They said this gives their firefighters and first responders a way to provide better patient care.
When asked if crews could tell the difference between these new ambulances, their answers were a resounding “Yes.”
“Plenty of power: It gets us where we need to go,” said Battalion Chief Jake Rast.
Morgan Palmer has worked as a firefighter and advanced emergency medical tech with Roy City Fire and Rescue for the last year and a half. She has noticed a big difference after working and driving the new ambulances.
“It’s bigger — more spacious — lets us get ready quicker for those fire calls,” Palmer said.
“Even though we are a fire department, most of what we do is medically related,” Rast added.
Last year, he said, they ran 6,078 calls. Roughly 90% of those were medical calls.
“I think we average right around 21 calls a day, at times last year,” Rast said.
KSL saw that play out in real time as their station got a call.
“Everyone has a job,” said Palmer.
Jake Rast, Battalion Chief, showing off the inside of the new ambulance. (KSL TV)
When asked their favorite part of the new ambulances, their unanimous answer was space.
“The size of the compartments. It gives firefighters going on calls more space to work and better patient care,” Rast said.
In addition to more storage space, they say there’s also more room on either side of the patient to provide care.
“You can hang fluids from both of these, so if people need medications via IV lines, we can hang those. Those are newer. It stabilizes the bag, too,” Palmer said.
They said it also offers a smoother ride.
“There are people pulling to the left. There are people stopping. There are people going to the right, so you have to be basically NASCAR!” said Palmer.
The new colored light options are another telltale sign the ambulances are new. In this case, the blue lights are known to be more calming for patients and everyone on hand.
“We all do our best. We’re all trained. We’re all trained all the time. Every day is a training day for us,” said Rast.
All firefighters at the station wear a lot of hats as they are all EMT-advanced. To help them help you, they ask if seeing an ambulance with sirens on and lights flashing, pull over to the right when you can safely.
