By Alan M. Petrillo
The Dubuque (IA) Fire Department covers the city of Dubuque with a 60,000-resident population from six stations staffed by 104 full-time paid firefighter/paramedics, running six engines, two ladder companies and three front line ambulances out of six fire stations.
The department got the greenlight from the city council and mayor to purchase two new ambulances that would replace two rigs nearing the end of their lifespan, and the department chose to have American Emergency Vehicles (AEV) build the new rigs.
Sam Janecke, Dubuque Fire’s emergency medical services (EMS) supervisor, says the department purchased two 2024 AEV Type 1 Traumahawk ambulances to replace two AEV rigs bought in 2016 and 2018.
“The older units, which are on Dodge 5500 chassis and had reached the end of their front line lifespan of five years, have transitioned to reserve status,” Janecke says. “With the new ambulances, we switched to Type 1s on a Ford F-550 4×4 chassis and went with the door-forward design to allow for additional working space in the patient box.”
He continues, “We kept the cabinetry pretty much the same as our prior units, but added ceiling grab bars for added medic safety, and a child safety seat, as well as a second stair chair. We have a lot of older homes with narrow staircases in our district, so we have Ferno and Stryker stair chairs, with one of them being secured in the L1/oxygen tank compartment, which meant we didn’t have room for a Zico O2 lift.”
Randy Barr, AEV’s director of sales, says the new Traumahawks are powered by 6.7-liter diesel engines, have a 172-inch body with 72-inches of headroom, a 6-inch body drop on the curbside, a Liquid Spring rear suspension, running boards, rear tow eyes, a ducted heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a front mounted condenser, and a secondary HVAC compressor.
Braden Vomund, regional sales manager for American Response Vehicles, who sold the two Type 1s to Dubuque, notes that the rig’s patient box has a child’s safety seat built into the attendant’s seat at the head of the cot, a 24-inch wide CPR seat, double seat positions on the squad bench, with all seating positions protected by Per4Max four-point harnesses.
He adds the rigs have privacy windows, Armocell insulation, a Stryker PowerLOAD system, secure latch restocking windows on interior cabinets, an IV warmer, an AEV dome light rail, a recessed suction unit on the streetside wall, microbial grab bars, a digital clock over the rear doors, and entry door keypads.
Barr points out that the AEV Type 1 rigs for Dubuque have a TOMAR Opticon® traffic preemption system, an AutoGuard anti-theft system, a Vanner Lifesine inverter, a Federal Signal Micro-Pulse siren, a dual tone Whelen siren, dual air horns, an OEM backup camera, skirt rail lights, underbody lights, LED compartment lights, Daybright LED cabinet lights, Whelen front turn signal lights, Whelen LED emergency lighting, and Whelen Pioneer LED scene lights.
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.