By Alan M. Petrillo
Horton Emergency Vehicles has built its 20,000th ambulance and delivered the rig to Franklin Township (OH) Fire Department.
Jason Cavallo, sales manager for Horton Emergency Vehicles, says the Franklin Township rig is a Type 1 ambulance on a diesel-driven Ford F-550 4×4 chassis, with a 167-inch long module that has 74-inches of headroom. “Franklin Township is a longtime customer of Horton,” Cavallo observes, “and we were pleased to build our 20,000th ambulance for them.”
Bob Arnold, Franklin Township’s chief, points out that Horton started its business in Franklin Township. “We’ve always bought Horton ambulances, which we call ‘medics,'” Arnold says. “In fact, Jason’s father had been chief of Franklin Township Fire Department long ago.”
Arnold says Franklin Township has two stations, each housing a pumper and an ambulance. “Our department runs to between 15 and 20 calls a day,” he notes. “Annually, we run 12,000 calls, which breaks down to 4,000 runs for each medic unit, and 2,000 calls for each pumper.” Franklin Township’s two Horton ambulances are advanced life support (ALS) units, and its two engines also run ALS calls. The coverage area is slightly more than eight square miles, and the department is staffed by 39 paid full-time firefighter/paramedics.
Cavallo says the Franklin Township Type 1 has a Cool-Tech™ 110-volt AC condenser that puts out 100,000-BTU of cooling power, and the Horton Occupant Protection System (HOPS) that has three major safety elements, the first being a rollover airbag system with three air bags on the street side and two on the curb side which deploy on the cabinet wall by the attendant seat, CPR seat and countertop area on road side, and one on each side of the squad bench.
The second safety component to HOPS is its progressive resistance upholstery, which is vinyl with a soft material underneath the cushion and two layers of multi-density foam that absorbs energy. The third HOPS component is the Per4max four-point seat harness that goes over the medic’s shoulder, self-adjusts with a single click, and has four retractors that provide more mobility for the medics who can stand and grab equipment without unbuckling.
Cavallo notes that the Franklin Township Type 1 has a walk-through door between the cab and patient module, a high-visibility front bumper, radiused and tapered cabinet tops, a Ferno universal floor plate for the cot, a Federal EQ2B electronic siren, a Whelen three-tone speaker, and an exterior compartment configured to hold self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
Lighting on the Horton Type 1 includes Whelen LED M9 white and red emergency warning lighting on the front of the rig, Whelen LED M6 red/clear and amber/clear lights over the rear doors, Whelen LED M7 red/clear lights over the wheel wells, Whelen LED M9V2R combination red/scene lights on the upper rear corners of the body, and Whelen LED M6V2R combination red/scene lights over the rear entry doors.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.