South Kitsap Fire and Rescue has wasted little time using the money allocated from the successful passage of a $4.9-million November bond issue to purchase new firefighting equipment.

Guy Dalrymple, SKFR deputy fire chief, said the department made a determined effort to expedite purchase of six new fire engines and five water-carrying tenders from Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wisc. The expedited process wasn’t done solely to speed up delivery. Dalrymple said that by meeting the manufacturer’s deadline, SKFR realized $283,706 in savings.

“We saved about $100,000 alone by purchasing before the company’s 2016 price changes went into effect,” Dalrymple said. “The second savings came from making the pre-payment. On the five tendered, we saved $55,458 by paying the full amount upfront. We also saved $128,248 on the advance purchase of the six fire engines.”

Dalymple equated the savings to getting a new tender for free. He said Division Chief Jeff Faucett was diligent in his efforts to save the district money by keeping the development team working through the winter to complete the purchase agreement.

“Chief (Steve) Wright made some very specific promises to voters about what we were going to do with the money,” Dalyrmple said. “Most all of it goes to vehicle acquisition,” he said. “The bulk of it is for upgrading our fleet of fire engines.”

As Wright explained to voters last fall, South Kitsap’s fleet is well beyond its operating lifetime. The new fire engines and tenders will be allocated to SKFR’s career stations. The existing rolling stock will be moved to the less-used group of volunteer stations in the county.

At the time of the crash, the ambulance was transporting a patient to the hospital.

The patient did not sustain any injuries as a result of that crash, but one of the first responders inside the ambulance was taken to the hospital and is recovering from his injuries.

At the time of the crash, the ambulance was not operating on an emergency route—meaning the vehicle did not have its lights or sirens on—which Livingston says is normal.

In fact, the majority of Guilford County’s ambulance transports don’t require the use of lights and sirens. That’s why Livingston says drivers should use the assumption that any time they see an ambulance that there’s someone likely in there getting treatment while in route to a hospital facility.

Of the 15 crashes involving ambulances over the last eight months—seven of them the ambulances were parked and struck by a vehicle, while eight of them were moving on the road (two of which were using their lights and sirens).

“The most dangerous place we operate is on the roadways,” Livingston said. He says when you see the lights and sirens move to the right side of the road. And if you see an ambulance on the road in general, be mindful and careful around it. “Be aware that the ambulance behind you may likely have somebody in the back that needs medical care and if it's involved in an accident then it delays their assessment at a treatment facility.”