Two backup/surge ambulances, the first units for Harford County's planned long-term transition to a county-run EMS service, departed their manufacturing plant in Florida Monday, bound for Maryland where they will be phased into service over the next nine months.
The units are expected to arrive by the middle of next week, once they pass a pre-delivery inspection by the manufacturer, Atlantic Emergency Solutions, of Manassas, Va., according to county government spokesperson Cindy Mumby.
The first of the two ambulances, which will be staffed by EMS crews employed by the county, is scheduled to be placed in service in January of 2018, following a plan laid out by County Executive Barry Glassman in his annual State of the County Address last January.
The ambulance crew would be available to answer calls during peak times for Harford’s volunteer fire and EMS companies, privately-run entities that currently provide EMS countywide with a mix of volunteers and paid medics who work for the fire companies.