Hyalite (MT) Fire District covers 35 square miles of bedroom community with a mix of single family residences and some tech commercial businesses south of Bozeman (MT) and borders a national forest that offers both summer and winter recreational activities.
Brian Nickolay, Hyalite’s chief, says the district has four Type 1 engines, three water tenders (tankers), three ambulances, one squad EMS (emergency medical services) fly car, and four command vehicles. The district was facing budgetary concerns when attempting to purchase a new ambulance, Nickolay says. “We border on a mountain range so we need four-wheel drive,” he notes. “We looked at four-wheel Type 1 ambulances on drive Ford and Dodge chassis that would cost us $300,000 to $325,000, and compared them to an all-wheel-drive Ford Transit model that was selling for $109,000. We decided to go with the Transit.”
Steve Apgar, owner and sales director for Apgar Ambulance, who sold the Demers 2022 Ford Transit to Hyalite, says the rig has a wheelbase of 148 inches, an overall length of 19 feet 8 inches, an overall height of 8 feet 7 inches, and a maximum width to the edge of the mirrors of 8 feet 2 inches. “The Demers TSE model is unique in that it is the only one offering aerodynamic roof lighting features,” Apgar points out. “The design reduces wind drag, but more importantly makes for a much quiet interior.”
Apgar says that other features on the Demers Ford Transit built for Hyalite include an all aluminum interior, fully multiplexed electrical system, a solid full length street-side single cabinet that increases structural integrity, a fiberglass roof liner that streamlines the vehicle and reduces wind noise, Lexan cabinetry doors, a ducted ceiling HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system, a vertical backboard compartment, a vertical oxygen storage area at the rear, easy electrical access through a door below the action area, and increased cab ergonomics.
The rig also has a CNC laser cut TDK (Throttle Down Kustoms) front grill and bumper system to reduce crash failures related to large animal strikes, Apgar observes. “Two deer and one elk crash on the ambulance’s first bumper have proven the product,” he says.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
