New ambulance added to city fleet

For the Havelock Fire and Rescue Department, red is the color of change with the recent arrival of a new ambulance.

The unit has been out on only a handful of calls since arriving in November and is a shade of new things to come.

Medic 234 has a red paint scheme, unlike the other three white city ambulances.

"This is going to be the new paint scheme that we’re going to follow on all the new units in the future," said Charles Winter, a firefighter and paramedic with the department.

As of last week, the new unit didn’t even have 1,000 miles on it.

"It’s got 981 miles on it and 600 and some of that was the trip from Florida," said John Lewis, Havelock fire marshal.

Havelock bought the ambulance for $110,000 from Wheeled Coach of Winter Park, Fla. Another $50,000 was spent on equipment, including a stretcher, stair chair, backboards, a 12-leads monitor, IV pump, drug box and medicine, jump bag, suction unit, IVs and catheters.

The unit also came with an AutoPulse unit that can do chest compressions for patients whose heart has stopped beating.

"It does that 90 percent better than another human can do it," Winter said. "We’ve used that multiple times with great success."

Medic 234 is the call sign for the unit, which is being kept inside the fire station pending the completion of the West End Fire Station at Tucker Creek, anticipated in March.

Another unit destined for the new fire station — and the new red paint scheme — is the city’s first ladder truck, a quint that is currently being built by E1 in Ocala, Fla.

The truck alone costs $547,364. Another $100,000 has been spent on equipment, including six $5,000 self-contained breathing apparatus units, extrication equipment, hoses, nozzles, lights and hand tools.

According to Havelock Fire Chief Rick Zaccardelli, the engine will be delivered around the time the new station is completed.

The exterior of the station has been finished with doors and windows in place, and the interior rooms have also been finished with the exception of the furnishings.

"It’s moving along as long as the weather holds out," Zaccardelli said.

Bids will go out Dec. 18 for furnishings including beds, chairs, desks, exercise equipment, televisions and other items.

"It’s like being in a brand new house with nothing in it," Zaccardelli said. "We’re going to have to get all the pots and pans and everything else."

A U.S. Department of Agriculture loan is paying for the $3.5 million, three-bay station that is being built on four acres next to Wells Wayside Furniture on U.S. 70.

Three new firefighter/paramedic positions will start next week.

The department is working to get the new employees their state certifications with online classes.

"That way the firefighters can get certification while they’re working," Zaccardelli said.