AEV built this Type 1 Traumahawk ambulance on a Ford F-550 4×4 chassis powered by a 6.7-liter diesel engine for Van-Far (MO) Ambulance District. (Photos courtesy of American Response Vehicles, except where noted.)

By Alan M. Petrillo

Van-Far (MO) Ambulance District needed to replace an advanced life support (ALS) Type 3 ambulance that was struck in a head-on crash by a wrong-way driver, causing the two staff members in the rig to be hospitalized, and obliterating the front of the ambulance. Van-Far turned to its longtime ambulance dealer, American Response Vehicles (ARV), to get it a new American Emergency Vehicles (AEV) Type 1 ambulance.

The AEV Type 1 for Van-Far has two condensers for dual HVAC systems that also feature a Hepa Max AC system, and an ActiveTek ultraviolet light air purification system.

Wendy Hull, Van-Far’s administrator and a paramedic on staff, says Van-Far immediately began using its backup Type 3 ambulance as a primary rig after the accident. “We are a pretty rural ambulance district, and the closest hospital is 40 minutes away, so we’re usually on the road for quite some time transporting patients,” Hull says. She notes the district has three full-time paid paramedics, including herself, one paid part-time paramedic, three paid full-time emergency medical technicians (EMT), and one paid part-time EMT.

The patient module is set up with a Stryker PowerLOAD system.

Craig Smith, ARV’s regional sales manager, says Van-Far has been an ARV customer for quite some time, and in the past few years has experienced several unfortunate events with its ambulances. “In 2018, they hit a deer with their Type 1 rig,” Smith notes, “and then when they were getting the ambulance repaired in a body shop, the rig caught fire and burned down. Van-Far replaced it with an AEV Type 3 ambulance, which is the one that was involved in the head-on collision. The other vehicle was reportedly traveling at around 100 miles an hour, so the medics who were injured were very lucky to have survived.”

The door forward design on the Type 1 allows for a cabinet and deck at the head of the squad bench allowing a medic to reach necessary equipment for patient care while remaining belted in a Per4Max harness.

Smith points out that Van-Far chose to go back to a Type 1 rig for its new ambulance, and went with a door forward design that has an ALS cabinet and deck between the side of the door and the squad bench where the medic can reach necessary equipment while working on a patient and stay belted in. “It’s a much safer configuration for the medic in the back of the box,” he observes. “About 80% of the Type 1 ambulances that I sell have the door forward design.”

Lighting on the new Van-Far rig includes Whelen LED emergency and scene lighting.

Randy Barr, AEV’s director of sales, says the new Type 1 rig for Van-Far is built on a Ford F-550 4×4 chassis and two-person cab, with a patient module that’s 176 inches long, 96 inches wide, with 72 inches of headroom. Barr adds that the Type 1 is powered by a 6.7-liter diesel engine, and has a Liquid Spring rear suspension, two air condensers for the heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, a Hepa Max AC system, and an ActiveTek ultraviolet light air purification system.

A Van-Far paramedic checks equipment in the new rig. (Photo courtesy of Van-Far Ambulance District.)

The Type 1’s body has Armocell insulation, sound deadening material in the walls and ceiling, step well insulation, stair chair storage, a Zico oxygen tank lift, AutoShade privacy windows, power door locks with a hidden unlock switch, a backup camera and a patient compartment camera, Barr says. The rig also has a Vanner Lifesine inverter, a Class 1 XL1 multiplex system, a 20-amp auto eject, USB outlets, Per4Max seat harnesses on all seats, a Norcold refrigerator, solid surface countertops, restocking windows in the interior cabinets, a Stryker PowerLOAD system, air horns, a dual tone siren, and a custom center console in the cab.

Two Van-Far paramedics tend to a patient. (Photos courtesy of Van-Far Ambulance District.)

Lighting on Van-Far’s Type 1 rig includes Whelen LED emergency lighting, Whelen LED M9 scene lights, LED compartment lighting, LED skirt rail lights, and LED underbody lighting.

ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.