Hobart (IN) Fire Department Upgrading Fleet with New Ambulance
The photo shows the grill of an orange ambulance.

File Photo

Charles Reilly

The Times, Munster, Ind.

(MCT)

The Hobart Fire Department is upgrading its fleet.

The Board of Public Works and Safety has authorized the purchase of a new ambulance to replace an aging vehicle that Fire Chief Randy Smith said has “a whole lot of miles on it.”

Clerk-Treasurer Deb Longer said the new ambulance has a price tag of about $315,000. The city placed the order for it March 3 after receiving board approval, and the new vehicle should be delivered in about 540 to 570 days from the order, Longer said.

“It’s replacing a 2011 that has nearly 100,000 miles,” Smith said. It’s “turning into a maintenance headache, and we need it desperately.”

Mayor Brian Snedecor said the new ambulance provides advantages in the years to come.

He said that as the new unit ages, the city wouldn’t have to purchase an entire ambulance to replace it.

Snedecor said the box on the ambulance, which is where medical assistance is provided, can be removed and remounted on a different chassis.

Replacing only a chassis will provide significant savings.

“This is a pretty good purchase to me,” Snedecor said of the new ambulance.

He said ambulance calls represent the majority of calls in which the Fire Department responds.

“These things take a lot of wear of tear,” Snedecor said of the ambulances.

He said Smith has placed an emphasis on purchasing ambulances in which the boxes can be remounted on a different chassis.

“I know the chief’s been wanting to do that for some time,” Snedecor said.

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The town board authorized the purchase of a new ambulance to replace an aging vehicle that Fire Chief Randy Smith said has "a whole lot of miles on it."

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