Staff reporter
Residents of the community and surrounding area may catch a glimpse of a shiny new vehicle on local streets but no one will want to take a ride in it - especially in the back.
Last week Rimbey Ambulance Services unveiled their brand new ambulance bringing to three the total to service those in need.
“This is a 2007 ambulance purchased from Demers out of Saskatoon and will replace our third-line car,” said Roni Coulthard, director of ambulance services. “We have three ambulances in Rimbey, two are hospital contracted and one is a mechanical backup however we do have access to all three of them in case of emergencies.”
As an added bonus for emergency medical technicians (EMT), the new vehicle also comes equipped with a hydraulically driven Stryker power cot designed for heavy-lift patients and transfers, while simultaneously making things much easier on those transporting them.
“It’s got a phenomenal lighting package and we also got the nice reflective decaling so that it gives us a higher visibility when we’re going to calls or sitting at accident scenes, especially at night,” Coulthard said. “It’s a newer unit. We mile out the others. It’s a little smoother of a ride due to the box dynamics. The front line ambulance is a bit bigger and what used to be our second line ambulance will now be our third, but it’s a little smaller. Being in a small rural community, sometimes you’re the only ones going half an hour out of town on a call with one patient, but when you get there, you find two or three patients.”