In November, we posted about some recent deliveries to Volusia County Fire Rescue. These were unique custom built Patriot units that serve as an all-in-one ambulance, rescue vehicle, and fire truck. Today, we bring you an update on these units as featured on FireFighterNation.com. The article titled "In Volusia County, Pumper/Ambulances Reduce Costs, Enhance Service" was written by Bob Vaccaro and published on May 16, 2012.

The article starts by highlighting the critical issue that Volusia County Chief Joe Pozzo faced, and one that resonates with other departments around the country. Volusia County had to reduce their fleet and cut costs, while maintaining the same level of service to its residents. The solution that emerged was the concept of the pumper/ambulance - or the "all-in-one" unit as we like to call it - in combination with an updated  service model.

The piece continues to detail the design process for these units, an out-of-the-box approach to solving the problems the county faced. We highly recommend you read the original article to hear what Chief Joe Pozzo had to say about the process. We worked with key decision makers at Volusia County, our local dealer - Ten-8 Fire Equipment, and Waterous to come up with the final specs for the units. The units are comprised of a 2011 Patriot module, a 2011 Spartan MetroStar chassis, and a Waterous CAFSystem™ (compressed air foam system).

“Braun and Ten-8 were great to work with,” Pozzo says. “They listened to our ideas and worked together with us to make this new concept work for us and the residents of the county."

Along with the design and build of new units, Volusia County's firefighters underwent additional training to get them better qualified in EMS transport. In combination, the county was able to provide residents with enhanced services previously not available in rural areas... all while reducing fleet costs.

At the end of the article, writer Bob Vaccaro makes a valid point that we could not agree with more:

Chief Pozzo, his command staff and the Volusia County firefighters should be commended for coming up with new ideas to save money and provide more efficient service to the residents of Volusia County. We could all benefit from this way of thinking.

While we understand this approach may not work for every department, we do think it's valuable to share how innovative departments are tackling today's issues head on. The same solution may not be right for your organization, but surely it will challenge you to think creatively and take a fresh look.

 Congratulations again to Volusia County on your new units!