Road Rescue Unveils New Ambulance System

Road Rescue Inc., an engineer and manufacturer of modular ambulances and specialty vehicles, introduced a Compressed Air Foam (CAF) fire suppression unit at the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire-Rescue International (FRI) last week.

Road Rescue, a subsidiary of Spartan Motors Inc., said the CAF system will allow fire and emergency rescue departments to equip existing and new ambulances or light rescue vehicles with fire suppression capability. The CAF-equipped vehicle is reportedly in response to fire department demand for a single vehicle that can respond to car accidents and other fire-related incidents with a single unit.

The compact CAF unit features a 30-gallon mix take and two 3,000-psi standard air cylinders, providing 600 GPM of foam at a distance up to 75 feet for up to six minutes.

“The CAF system will give first-responders the capability to fight fires
using their ambulance units, helping departments improve response times and add additional fire suppression-capable units,” said Richard Hamilton, vice president of Road Rescue.

Hamilton added that the total number of emergency-rescue personnel and rescue vehicles has remained relatively stable over the past 10 years, yet fire-related property damage has grown 5.7 percent annually, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).