Low Acuity 601 or LA601 sits on a 2011 Ford F550 Chassis with a Rosenbauer Medium-Duty Rescue utility box mounted on it. Low Acuity 601 responds to a variety of minor service and medical calls including minor falls, minor injuries, or types of calls that require only one paramedic to intervene.

“Due to call volume continually increasing, there was a need to ensure the correct resource was added to address the issue,” said Eric Valliere, an Assistant Fire Chief for the Scottsdale (AZ) Fire Department. “We are a data-driven organization and identified the types of calls in the area and looked at an alternative response,” Chief Valliere added.

LA601 is staffed with two sworn firefighters, one being an EMT and the other being a Paramedic, keeping four-person fire trucks available for more serious medical or fire emergencies.

The Scottsdale (AZ) Fire Department will address the needs of a similar unit as the call volume increases for the city. “As the call volume continues to increase, mostly in the downtown area, we continue to look at needs and additional resources,” Chief Valliere said to Buffers Central. “LA601 has been successful in addressing the need in Fire Station 601’s area, so we definitely look at adding more when the need is identified,” Chief Valliere continued.

“Fire Station 601’s area has a high call volume of all call types and could utilize an additional four-person crew,” Chief Valliere said. Scottsdale (AZ) Fire Department says the cost to operate and staff LA601 is a lower cost than a four-person fire truck.

The Patient Transport Engine or Engine 203 is a Pierce Velocity 1500-gallon per minute, 750-gallon water tank, and 30-gallon foam tank with an ambulance configuration. The engine responds out of fire station 203 just north of Highway 90. Sierra Vista Fire & Medical uses Engine 203 to transport low-acuity patients or patients with minor injuries, allowing a more traditional-style ambulance to transport high acuity patients or patients with major injuries. The unit completes an average of two hospital transports a day.

“Engine 203 came about in research done to try and find an alternative type of engine that had the ability to transport and do the work that an Engine usually does without losing the efficiency,” Fire Chief Brian Jones of Sierra Vista Fire & Medical Services said to Buffers Central. “The goal was to find an apparatus that met these needs and had a positive impact on our operations as well as the budget. Sierra Vista Fire and Medical has received both of these positives,” Fire Chief Jones added.

“The impact on the community has been very positive. Engine 203 with its capabilities has the ability to fight fire and transport to the Emergency Room,” said Fire Chief Jones.

Engine 203 is staffed daily with 3 personnel. “In the past, we needed 5 personnel in order to operate an ambulance and engine in the same location,” Fire Chief Jones said. “With Engine 203 we are accomplishing the same tasks with fewer people which allows us to allocate that personnel to other parts of the organization,” Fire Chief Jones continued.

According to Sierra Vista Fire & Medical Services, the use of the Patient Transport Engine has improved hospital transportation and response times for the department, specifically in Station 203 first due area. “The decline in response times due to proximity to the hospital and Engine 203 is a multifaceted piece of equipment that has the ability to do two jobs with one apparatus,” Fire Chief Jones told Buffers Central.

Engine 203 with the ambulance configuration has the approval of the Arizona Department of Health Services to transport and is maintained like an ambulance, the department said.

The department is still in the data collection phase of whether or not another Patient Transport Engine would benefit the city. “Future purchases of this type of apparatus would have to include fuel costs, staffing, and location,” Fire Chief Jones said.