North Port Fire-Rescue is proud to announce the arrival of their newest Ambulance.

The new addition to the fleet was built by Medtec Ambulance Corp. of Goshen, Indiana which has a sales and service facility located in Bradenton, Florida. This Rescue was purchased and delivered through an accelerated process with the permission of our City Manager and Commission based on a special request by Chief Taaffe.  Through this cooperative effort we were able to purchase an already built unit and accomplish delivery in less than 30 days compared to a process that typically takes from 210 to 280 days.

The modular body ambulance is built on a Chevy 4500 chassis and equipped with special features such as an air suspension system that increases patient transport comfort and a mini refrigerator for longer life of temperature sensitive medications utilized by EMS response personnel.

The exterior design is very different with a bold new striping pattern on the rear of the vehicle to increase profile visibility thereby providing better safety for our personnel operating on emergency scenes.  This new Federal visibility standard for all new emergency vehicles does not officially go in effect until January 2009 however North Port Fire Rescue decided to meet this requirement ahead of schedule.

This new Rescue (ambulance) will be titled R-82 and will respond from North Port Fire Rescue Station 82 located at 5700 North Port Boulevard.

NORTH PORT FIRE RESCUE DISTRICT RANKS IN TOP 1% OF THE COUNTRY FOR FIRE PROTECTION

The North Port, Florida Fire Rescue District was notified this week that they have received a Public Protection Classification Rating of 2/8B.  “Our previous classification was a 4/9, so this is a significant change that will benefit the residents of North Port,” said Fire Chief Bill Taaffe.  Insurance providers are being notified by ISO and the rating becomes effective August 1, 2006.   ISO rates departments on a 1-10 scale.  (1=best, 10=no fire protection). 

The improvement to a 2/8B rating is very significant, of the 780 fire departments in Florida, there are only five Class 1 departments and 16 Class 2 departments. On a national scale, North Port Fire Rescue District now ranks in the top 1% of the country. Taaffe stated that “while this is a pride factor for our members, we are elated by the difference it will make for North Port residents and businesses.” 

Residents who were previously rated a 9, now Class 8B, may see reductions in insurance premiums from $200 - $500 per year, according to a survey of five local insurers (rate changes will vary by company since not all companies will provide reductions).  While these residents still do not have fire hydrants, the delivery of the water with the District’s new fire tanker helped achieve this improvement.  Likewise, the change from Class 4 to Class 2 may also result in a savings. 

“This accomplishment could not have been achieved without the support of the entire City Team and the City Commission,” states Chief Taaffe.  “I want to personally thank the North Port Utilities Department, Sarasota County Public Safety Communications Center and my Administrative Staff, Fire Officers and Firefighters in the Operations Division who made this possible.  In addition, I want to express my gratitude to the citizens of North Port.  Their support gave us the tools and resources to follow through with this goal and afford us the opportunity to help reduce insurance costs throughout the City.”