LYNN — The fire department put a new Advanced Life Support ambulance into service last week, marking nine years since the city has purchased a new ambulance.
This state-of-the-art vehicle took six months to build and has many new safety features.
The 2021 ambulance includes numerous airbags, in case of an accident or rollover, and a new type of stretcher system from Stryker, called “Powerload,” which lifts and loads patients up to 750 pounds if needed.
This resource will prevent back injuries of firefighters and “vastly improve how Lynn Fire provides emergency medical services (EMS) to the city of Lynn,” said Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas.
The Lynn Fire Department responds to approximately 15,000 incidents each year, with over 10,000 of these calls being EMS related, according to Zukas.
Responding to these calls are 39 firefighters/paramedics and 135 firefighters/EMTs, all of whom will benefit from this new ambulance.
“The Lynn Fire Department would like to thank Mayor McGee and Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino for approving the purchase of this ambulance,” Zukas said. “In addition, we would like to recognize Capt. Ed Miles, and firefighter/paramedics Pat Carritte and Marc Churchill for all of their assistance in the planning and putting into service one of the most advanced ambulances in the state.”
This ambulance costs $300,000 and was made at Greenwood Emergency Vehicles in North Attleborough.
Greenwood Emergency Vehicles was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1979 as a dealer for Emergency One, Inc., which is one of the largest manufacturers of fire apparatus in the United States.
According to the company website, E-One built the first aluminum fire truck in 1974, using what is now recognized as the “material of choice in the construction of apparatus…adding years to the life expectancy of these vehicles.”
Greenwood serves as the exclusive dealer for E-One in much of New England.
