From the Foster Coach Sales Facebook page:
Brand new Horton conversion on a Ford F450 chassis
New Ford/Horton Type I ambulance for Rosemont. Foster Coach Sales photo
Foster Coach Sales photo
Foster Coach Sales photo
Foster Coach Sales photo
Foster Coach Sales photo
#1 by FFPM571 on May 14, 2016 - 3:49 PM
If anyone notices this rig is marked Public Safety and not Fire like the other rigs. I had this rig in my shop for the computer install the fleet manager was not sure if it would be changed to fire or not. One of the officers that was with him to pick up the rig noted that the paramedics will be doing more suppression activites
#2 by Joe on May 13, 2016 - 9:50 PM
The suppression unit at the Higgins station is not manned. The engine there is a 2nd spare and is rarely used for anything. The bureau operates out of station 2 and there’s a training classroom as well. The station is manned by 2 contract paramedics only and they run one full time ambulance. Station 1 on River holds another ambulance with contract paramedics, one engine, one tower ladder, one squad, and the battalion chief. The suppression units are all BLS. The contract medics do not ever ride the engine or truck and Rosemont public safety officers are not required to be paramedics and do not act in such a function even if they happen to be paramedics.
The engine and truck are manned typically by 3 personnel, but occasionally will have 4. The squad is a jump company and runs only on pin ins and highway runs with a few other special type runs thrown in there. The squad will get one guy from the engine and one from the truck if they need it on a run. On a good day that will leave them still with 3 on the engine, 3 on the truck, and 2 on the squad.
Rosemont’s spare ambulances are all fully stocked as they are used at the Allstate Arena for events, but the public safety officers do not ever run as an ambulance company. During large or extended incidents, Rosemont will call back members (they must live in town) to man the spare equipment as opposed to calling for a change of quarters companies. There are occasions when the engine at station 2 will get manned in a situation like this, but it’s very rare and is only temporary until the incident is mitigated. All Rosemont’s spare engines and trucks are fully stocked and ready to be used, so when members come in for recalls (call backs), they just put their gear on and are ready to go. Sometimes when a spare is fully staffed during a recall, it’ll be utilized at the scene of an incident too instead of calling an out of town company.
#3 by Bill Post on May 13, 2016 - 4:21 PM
The ambulance on Higgins makes a lot of sense as that station is closer to the Rosemont Horizon and the Higgins/Mannheim Rd area. Even though not that many people live in Rosemont there are quite a few hotels and conventions as well as commercial businesses plus the highway traffic. They are often going to the highway for accidents.
#4 by Bill Post on May 13, 2016 - 4:14 PM
Thanks for the information Kevin. There still is a question whether Engine 155 is manned at the station on Higgins or is it being used for storage purposes. I would be surprised if they man two engine companies. I thought they only staffed an engine, and a truck plus an ambulance or two with the squad being cross manned sometimes by the truck, but I could be wrong.
#5 by Robert on May 13, 2016 - 3:55 PM
They have ambulances at both houses for a while now. I believe this one is going to the headquarters .
#6 by Kevin Griffin on May 13, 2016 - 11:15 AM
and engine 155 was the suppression unit at station 2 at that time
#7 by Kevin Griffin on May 13, 2016 - 11:13 AM
I believe they put 2 ambulances back to their headquarters station and the rest or at the Higgins rd station. That’s how it was the last time I drove past there about a month or so ago
#8 by Bill Post on May 13, 2016 - 10:11 AM
As the paramedics are contract personnel it seems that they would be used solely as paramedics while the public safety personnel would be separate, but it is really the logistics of the set up that is unusual by having a separate ambulance station versus a fire suppression station. By having the in service fire companies at a different location then the ambulances it almost makes it impossible to run one of the ambulances as a jump company.
In some small fire departments they usually will run with a dedicated ambulance crew however if another call comes in they would take 2 men off of one of the fire companies to run the second ambulance which would make it a jump company.
#9 by Bill Post on May 13, 2016 - 9:55 AM
Is Rosemont still running their ambulances from the Higgins Rd station? I was wondering how they do it as far as manpower goes as I am sure that most of the ambulances must be reserve units. How many ambulance crews are on duty at any given time one or two?
I know that in Rosemont they have it as part of the public safety department but I’m not completely sure how it is operated. For example will some of the police staff an ambulance if they are busy or running short?