Owasso council approves purchase of a Type 1 ambulance to address rising EMS demand

The Owasso City Council approved the purchase of a Type 1 ambulance to expand the Fire Department’s EMS capability and reduce response-time pressure in the city’s busiest response area.

Fire Chief David Hurst told the council the department currently operates six ambulances: four assigned as primary units to each of the city’s four fire stations and two held in reserve for maintenance, special events and surges. Hurst said EMS call volume increased about 10% over three years and was 3.5% higher than last year. He said Station 1’s response area receives roughly 25–29% more calls than other areas and that roughly 31% of calls in that area are handled by ambulances from other stations because of concurrent incidents.

To improve coverage, Hurst recommended adding a fifth primary ambulance to be housed at Fire Station 1. "To ensure continued reliability and efficiency in the ambulance service delivery, staff recommends placing an additional ambulance into service to be housed at Fire Station Number 1," Hurst said.

Staff recommended procuring a Type 1 ambulance from American Emergency Vehicles through the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) cooperative purchasing program, contract AM10-23. The base purchase price quoted in the presentation was $328,646; staff said a prepayment discount of $12,587 and a Ford-chassis price concession rebate of $1,800 were available, and that a 5% contingency and a $55,000 delivery fee were included in the final estimate. The department presented a not-to-exceed amount of $335,222 from the ambulance capital fund.

Councilors asked whether the vehicle would arrive outfitted; Hurst said supplies and equipment to stock the ambulance are separate purchases. Councilors also asked about staffing; Hurst said the department is in the process of ensuring staff will be available to operate an additional primary ambulance and that the current budget anticipates hiring to fill needs.

Hurst described the city’s target response time goal as "5 minutes 90% of the time," noting that dispatch and turnout time are included in the measured door-to-door response. He said the new ambulance is intended to reduce cross-coverage from other stations and lower response times in Station 1’s service area.

The council voted to approve the purchase and authorized payment under the HGAC contract. Vote responses recorded affirmative support from Mayor Alvin Frigier and council members Cody Walter, Chad Balthrop, Paul Loving, Bell and Brugget.