Syracuse FD Light Rescue Vehicles

[fyreline]

As the SFD era of Safety Yellow paint and “Rescue 2” unfolded, the first of a number of modular-style ambulance units appeared. The first of these was acquired in 1975 and was built by Medicoach of Oneonta, NY on a Chevrolet C30 chassis. The unit featured the big 454 cubic inch V8, and was always a speedy ride to alarms.

 



 

Next in the series was a 1982 delivery on the much larger Chevrolet Model 6D chassis, with bodywork by the Modular Ambulance Corporation of Grand Prairie, Texas. With diesel power and an Allison automatic transmission, the price tag for this unit came to $74,986.  It was never very popular with its crews, who considered it a “dump truck chassis”, and it rode like one.  I remember as a young Lieutenant working a covering assignment at Rescue, we had to transport a firefighter injured at an alarm scene to the hospital. He said the ride did more damage to him than his injuries, and he would just as soon take a cab home. 

 



 

Sanity finally returned when a 1988 Ford/Braun Type III unit was received, more in line with what Eastern Ambulance was using. The crews liked this unit a lot, but the Ford E-350 was sometimes difficult for the Division of Maintenance to service. Not a lot of room under that hood.

 



 

Rescue Company personnel were more concerned about the box than the chassis, so the next unit had a very similar “working end”, also by Braun, but was a Type I on a Ford F-350 chassis. It featured an additional compartment atop the body for the Stokes basket, which looked like a shark fin to the crew, so that particular Rescue 2 was always known as “The Shark”. Delivered in 1992, this unit had a price tag of $91,825.