ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke Fire-EMS will roll out six new ambulances on April 14.
They are badly needed. In fact, some have been backordered for years.
Following on the heels of our recent report on the current firetruck shortage, we learned many departments have also been waiting years after ordering new ambulances, meaning the current vehicles have gone tens of thousands of miles longer than intended.
Roanoke Fire-EMS chief David Hoback is smiling as he walks around one of the new ambulances going into service. He’s been waiting a long time for the new units.
“They’re on a 450 chassis. But newer. When we order them, we were ordering a 2022 chassis. But when they came, it was a 2026 chassis,” Hoback said.
As we recently reported about a similar firetruck backlog, it goes back to COVID.
“They couldn’t build them enough. Plus, they had a loss of staffing. So, they couldn’t produce. They were doing 15 to 20 a day, and they went down to eight a day, Hoback explained. He said suppliers told him they couldn’t find workers after the pandemic. That, combined with the backlog of orders, created a mountain of work to be done by fewer people.
It’s not just a Roanoke problem. Salem recently took delivery of three ambulances. Two were delayed, but the third came faster.
“And the first ambulance was about four years getting. But we got our third ambulance much ... faster. When we ordered it, we got it in about five months,” Salem Fire-EMS Chief Steve Simon said.
In Botetourt, there was a similar situation.
“We received three ambulances in December,” said Chief Jason Ferguson.
The County needed new equipment -- but it took years for it to arrive.
“That was our first set of ambulances that had been on order for just over three and a half years, actually ordered back in October of 22. And that was the first bolus of ambulances we’ve had in the three-year period. And we did order three more that are supposed to arrive in late 27, early 28,” Ferguson said.
And, like fire apparatus -- the cost is alarming.
“First ambulance I bought for the city, I paid $38,000 for it. And now it’s? Now it’s $360,000,” Hoback said.
Depending upon the supplier and the way an emergency vehicle is outfitted, it can be even higher.
“Sure, so right now they’re costing in the low 400s, about the $415,000 to $425,000 range,” Ferguson said.
Botetourt County runs 10 ambulances. In Roanoke, the number is 20. Some considered front-line equipment, with older vehicles used as backup.
“We have a total of 20 in the fleet. Front line, we have 13,” Hoback said. meaning that when the six new units go into service, the city will be replacing roughly half of its fleet.
Collectively, the chiefs we talked to believe the time to delivery is improving, but it may never get back to the six months they once used for planning.
In the meantime, vehicles that would have been retired are on the road longer and longer. Meaning higher maintenance costs and less reliability.
“Yeah, when I first began in this position eight years ago as chief, we were using about 110,000 - 125,000 miles as the goal for when a truck should come out of front line to become a reserve. Now it’s more like 175,000. So, we’re having to push the chassis much further,” Ferguson said.