North Royalton fire officials: new ambulance in final inspection after multi-year order delays; May call volumes up

Assistant Fire Chief Tom Habak told the Safety Committee on June 17 that a new ambulance is undergoing a final inspection in Grove City, Ohio, and will require installation of a Motorola radio and transfer of the power-load system from the old ambulance before it is placed in service. Habak estimated the vehicle will be operational about 2–3 weeks after it arrives in North Royalton.

Finance Director Jenny Esarey told the committee the ambulance was ordered in May 2023 as part of the 2023 budget. Habak and Esarey said the department continues to experience long manufacturing lead times—“ever since Covid the supply chain for equipment has been miserable,” Habak said—explaining that larger fire apparatus can take four to five years to receive and ambulances often run two to four years behind order dates.

Habak also reviewed operational data for May: the department responded to 343 calls in May (up from 299 in May of the previous year) and reported 172 overlapping incidents, meaning two or more calls occurred at the same time. Mutual aid was received five times and provided 12 times. A new employee was sworn in the day before and is expected to begin shift work in August after a 6–8 week orientation period.