Standard ambulances cost $220,000, Taylor said, and the lift systems on the two ambulances cost an additional $12,700 each. The wider stretchers cost $8,100 each, which is $7,000 cheaper than regular stretchers because they do not have as many features.

The stretchers and lift costs were reduced with a county award grant, which covered 75 percent of the cost.

Tannachion said the new stretchers are similar to those used to carry professional football players off the field. It takes about an hour and a half of training for firefighters to learn how to operate the lift and larger stretcher, he added.

“The controls are at the foot of the stretcher, and you need someone at each corner,” Tannachion said. “It could have six people, three people on each side, if they needed to go over rugged terrain.”