On our Facebook page, we recently posted an advertisement from our Florida and Georgia dealer, Ten-8 Fire Equipment. The ad itself featured a Braun delivery to Temple Terrace Fire Department. The unit is a Braun Super Chief Type I Medium Duty Ambulance on a Freightliner M2 extended cab chassis. It seemed to pique a lot of interest on our Facebook page, so we thought we'd share more on the unit!

When Temple Terrace was looking to buy a new ambulance, they had a problem. The department had previously purchased all of their ambulances from MedTec and they were not happy with the quality of the vehicles or customer service they had been receiving as of late. However, over the years, they had developed their ambulance specifications and features around MedTec's designs. They wanted to keep it easy on their fleet maintenance crew to work on the vehicles, so they hoped to keep many of those established design considerations the same on their new ambulance(s) with a new manufacturer.

Having purchased fire trucks, fire equipment, and ambulances from Ten-8 Fire Equipment for over 20 years, Temple Terrace's sales representative, Cindy Morgan, suggested they consider Braun for their next ambulance. Cindy understood that the most important thing to Temple Terrace was reliability. They needed a quality-built emergency vehicle that would encounter minimal downtime. She knew that Braun could meet those needs, and custom design their ambulance to meet the department's previous vehicle design specifications.

When asked about their decision to switch to Braun, Temple Terrace Fire Department Chief, Keith Chapman, had the following to say:

When Ten-8 suggested we look at Braun, we felt it was very important to go visit the facility in person. Myself and our fleet manager went up to Van Wert, Ohio, and we were very impressed by what we saw. The SolidBody Construction to create one integrated module for the box was far above what we'd seen quality-wise with other brands. It was also nice to meet the owners. Like Ten-8, we appreciated the fact that Braun is a family-owned and operated company.

That initial visit proved to be much more than just a confirmation of the quality behind the Braun name. It served as our pre-construction meeting. Face-to-face, we were able to do a comparison of our existing units versus what we could get on a new unit. We were also able to see units they had in production, which opened our eyes to new design points we had not previously considered.

It was truly an invaluable trip. If I could tell another department one thing about switching manufacturers, it would be to take advantage of an offer to visit the factory and conduct that pre-construction meeting in person. There is a lot to sort out in making the transition. Since we handled it on the front-end, we will now have a much easier time with future orders. Braun knows exactly what we want and they're able to deliver on it.

The Temple Terrace unit carries the fire gear on their extended cab chassis with roll up doors, keeping it separate from the EMS/rescue equipment in the ambulance. It was important to the department to divide these up; they feel it allows their first responders to be more efficient and is more sanitary for the EMS/rescue equipment. The exterior also features electrical equipment, which was essential to their fleet mechanics.

Inside the unit, there are many standard features that were implemented in a custom fashion to provide Temple Terrace the layout they were used to. This includes all bench seating and a locked refrigerator and drug cabinet. Braun was able to integrate the department's existing electronic key system into these components. The system tracks which employees access the locked compartments and when for accountability.

The unit also features two separate AC units. While at the station, the unit stays plugged in to maintain a certain temperature, regardless of the time of year. This is done through a roof top air condition unit and is important for medications and solutions in the module that are not required to be refrigerated, but may not survive the harsh Florida heat and humidity for long. Inside the module, there is a FT-454 AC unit, which keeps it very cold while in service.

Lastly, Braun was able to take the existing fleet graphics Temple Terrace had developed and apply them to the new ambulance. Seven years prior, the department had redesigned everything to create a cohesive look. Braun was able to replicate these so their new ambulance is identical to their existing MedTec units.

We would like to sincerely thank Chief Keith Chapman of Temple Terrace Fire Department and Cindy Morgan of Ten-8 Fire Equipment for their insight when developing this blog. We hope Chief Chapman's feedback is helpful to others considering a switch from one ambulance manufacturer to another... and we thank the department again for trusting Braun & Ten-8 to deliver on their new unit!