AMHERST — An incident in which an Amherst Fire Department ambulance lost its two passenger- side rear wheels, causing it to screech to a halt on the Route 9 pavement in Hadley while returning from Cooley Dickinson Hospital last week, is leading to renewed calls for improved equipment and enhanced staffing.
In a letter to the Town Council that argues that the equipment and personnel issues are “beginning to spiral out of control,” Ben Graham, president of Amherst Fire Fighters Local 1764, writes that the latest concern comes after the crash that occurred shortly after midnight April 19, when the wheels of the ambulance sheared off, ending up at the edge of the road, and the vehicle came to a violent stop with sparks flying from the pavement.
“We are thankful that neither of our members was injured in this incident; the outcome could have been much worse,” Graham wrote in the letter posted to the union’s Facebook page. “Had the ambulance been patient loaded, or had it been during a different time of day, there could have been multiple parties involved or injured in the incident, as this is a very busy roadway.”
The department has five ambulances and both the union and the department’s leaders have argued these should be replaced every seven to eight years, rather than the current 10-year cycles. The current fifth ambulance, the one involved in this incident and scheduled to be replaced, is considered a backup that is deployed at games, concerts and other events, while the other four ambulances regularly serve Amherst, Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury, as well as the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College and Hampshire College.
But the fifth ambulance was forced to become one doing transports, said Town Manager Paul Bockelman, because the newest ambulance, purchased and equipped at a cost of $361,500 and part of the fleet since January, was being serviced at the dealer.
“This is an unfortunate accident and we are glad no one was injured,” Bockelman said. “We are looking into the cause and will review our protocols going forward.”
Bockelman said he has also asked the department to reinspect all town ambulances to determine if this is a problem unique to the vehicle, or could happen to another vehicle. He notes that all ambulances annually go for state inspection, which this ambulance passed on Aug. 2, that they also have to be inspected and licensed through the Office of Emergency Medical Services, and that each week the ambulances are checked by on-duty firefighters.
The Joint Capital Planning Committee, which reviews long- and short-term capital needs, wrote in its memo to the Town Council that changing the ambulance purchase cycle was discussed during its meetings this winter and spring. But the committee added that it was not recommending adjusting the current plan, which retains a 10-year replacement schedule for ambulances.
The committee’s report recommends another $361,500 in borrowing to replace this 2012 ambulance, the oldest in the fleet. That ambulance is one of two the department uses that has more than 155,000 miles on it.
“We can work together to begin to correct this problem in the future, or we will suffer more catastrophic equipment failures and risk the lives of the public and your firefighters, while failing to protect the public and the services they deserve,” Graham writes.
But Bockelman said that with two ambulances being purchased, as well as medical calls down 34% and transports down 40% over the past four years (in part because the department no longer services Hadley), along with buying a new fire pumper and new ladder truck, the $2.8 million in spending for the department marks an “unprecedented” investment in Amherst’s history.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.