Saving Taxpayer Dollars-Refitting Capital Assets-Cost Saving Results

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

Camden County Fire Rescue (CCRF) operates 6 full-time ambulances. In 2014 alone, rescue personnel answered 5440 Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls in the 668 square mile response area that makes up Camden County, Georgia. Our local county hospital, Southeast Georgia Health System- Camden Campus, receives 90% of transported patients. The other 10% of individuals needing medical assistance are transported to hospitals outside the county limits, and quite possibly outside the state of Georgia into Florida since we are a border county. Due to the size of the county and travel time for long transports, our six ambulances acquire high mileage in a short period of time. The chassis is usually the first mechanical issue to arise and it happens long before the patient compartment portion shows any wear and tear. Camden County Fire Chief Mark Crews asked the Camden County Board of Commissioners in 2015 for authorization to have a 2008 American LaFrance Ambulance refitted. This particular ambulance had already run for 180,000 miles. In order to save taxpayer money, a refit of the chassis was the most economical way to keep the equipment as part of the future fleet.