New ambulance for the Orland Fire District

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Foster Coach Sales photo

Foster Coach Sales photos

thanks martin

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This entry was posted on May 3, 2022, 7:00 AM and is filed under Ambulance photos, Fire Department News, New Delivery. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

15 Comments

#1 by Dan on May 8, 2022 - 11:49 AM

The only major drawback for those E Series is serviceability. Very tight area under the hood which takes a lot longer to do repairs than the F Series.
#2 by Pat on May 8, 2022 - 6:48 AM

In Chicago, paramedics hate the F series that we currently have. We have a few F450, F350 and RAM truck chassis. They are insanely rough ride, so CFD paramedics prefer the E series now and most seem to be hoping our next order of ambos is the E series chassis. The Truck chassis have more leg room, but it’s not worth it for the rough ride the city ambos are having.
#3 by Tim on May 6, 2022 - 2:40 PM

TTguy, you’re right. A department likes what they like and usually for a reason.
#4 by ttguy on May 6, 2022 - 1:41 PM

Tim, I don’t mean to argue. Most ambulance manufacturers offer module sizes that vary just inches between the F-series chassis and the E-series. In some cases, the module may actually be longer on an E-series. I agree that the F-series offer larger wheels (19.5″ vs. 16″) and that you can get a diesel engine in an F-series, however the popularity of the 7.3-liter V-8 gas is definitely increasing. I also agree that a longer wheelbase does generally increase the ride quality on most vehicles, but despite all the various suspension options tried over the years on F-series ambulances, it really is hard to beat the ride quality of a properly loaded E-series and the value it offers. You rarely hear of any maintenance being required on the E-series’ spring suspension, but you frequently hear of issues with aftermarket air or liquid suspensions on F-series chassis. Like personal vehicles, every department seems to have their own preferences.
#5 by Tim on May 6, 2022 - 9:24 AM

Mabas 21, Orland hasn’t had Star of life on the side of their ambulances since they went to red ambulances in 1997. The fire companies have a small one on the cab window. As far as the striping….they never wanted to change the ambulances as their ambulance striping is unique to them. They have separate committees for the apparatus and the ambos. Years ago there was some crossover between committees (same guys on both), but it’s not like that now. They had all yellow striping on the apparatus until 2015, when they changed the center stripe to black.

TTguy, getting a bigger module on an F-series, that would be the main thing. The F series are usually 550s. The ride is nicer on a longer wheelbase, bigger wheels, and a diesel will fit in them. But, again a bigger module on a F-550 won’t fit in 3 out of the 6 stations.
#6 by MABAS 21 on May 6, 2022 - 8:52 AM

This comment is not to be taken negatively, but I am surprised that Orland hasn’t spec’ed their last several new ambulances with the current reflective striping theme as their suppression companies. Also the “Star of Life” decals on the sides of the bus are lacking.
#7 by ttguy on May 6, 2022 - 8:42 AM

What about the E-series chassis, that would be resolved by going to the F-series, do they not like?
#8 by Tim on May 6, 2022 - 8:34 AM

Sure they could Harry. Modifying the firehouses was discussed also, but that’s not as simple as you think. Harry are you familiar with the Orland stations layout? Or they could just build new firehouses. That’s simple enough. Any suggestions Harry as to what where or how they should build, since, according to you they have the money.
#9 by Harry on May 6, 2022 - 8:13 AM

Orland has money they could modified stations if needed or build new stations
#10 by crabbymilton on May 6, 2022 - 6:45 AM

The E SERIES is one of the very few FORD products that don’t have a long list of recalls and stupid little problems. Hence, a long proven product that’s been life extended any number of times. Some are put off by the fact that it lacks a diesel option.
#11 by Tim on May 5, 2022 - 11:55 PM

What’s your friends name? And if he’s on the ambo spec committee why did he let the current Ambulance 2 get painted the wrong color? The F series with the current module they run will fit at stations 3, 4 and 5 if you want to leave the bay door open. The ambulance bays are not long enough. If you can close the bay door but can’t walk around the front or the back of the rig, I guess you can say they fit. They don’t have room to put the ambulances in the main bays at those 3 stations either. Station 3 has the haz-mat squad, 4 has the spare truck and 5 has the dive squad. Station 1 and 6 are double deep and station 2 is big enough for an F series.

They bought E-350s until 1997. Then they started buying E-450s which tripled the life on brakes and tires compared to the 350’s. They looked into the medium duty chassis ( Freightliner, Navistar)in 97 but determined it wasn’t cost effective.

There was always discussion about going to an F series. Room in the firehouses was the #1 issue.

They run 6 rigs frontline ( 5 are always manned. 6 if manning allows). They usually have 2 spare. Their replacement program was replace a rig after 8 years, so they try to order a new rig every year. Sometimes it doesn’t work out so if they skip a year they may order 2.

The latest spec the guys don’t like the module, not the chassis. The bench seat is too short and you can’t get far enough down to start IVs on patients. Hard to start an IV when you’re sitting near the patient’s shoulder. They put a bunker gear compartment on the passenger side, chewing up a lot of bench seat.
#12 by John Adams on May 5, 2022 - 9:23 PM

It’s 100% true. My friend is on the ambulance spec committee and they keep getting turned down for the F series. They do also fit in all the stations. It’s tight in a couple of them, but they fit.
#13 by Tim on May 5, 2022 - 8:17 PM

John, that’s not completely true. Most of those guys don’t have a problem with the E-series. Orland has been buying E-series ambos since 1989. One reason Orland doesn’t buy the F-series is because they’re too long to fit in some of the ambulance bays. Stations 3, 4 and 5 won’t fit an F series. Station 4’s ramp would make the back of an F series ambulance hit the top of the door way on the way out. Orland has had a ton of retirements over the last few years. Some of the “newer” guys might not be familiar with some of these issues.
#14 by John Adams on May 5, 2022 - 2:46 PM

A couple of my friends work their and they cant stand those E-series chassis. Apparently, they’ve been asking for the F series chassis for years but the district keeps refusing for some reason.
#15 by Tim on May 3, 2022 - 12:14 PM

Nice looking rig.