Medical Ambulance Bus Joins County Fire Department Fleet

The standing in front of the Anne Arundel County Police and Fire Headquarters in Millersville is a daily reminder to passersby that disaster can strike at any moment. This remembrance served as the backdrop on Tuesday afternoon when the Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s Medical Ambulance Bus (MAB) was unveiled. If a disaster happens, natural or otherwise, that would affect a large group of citizens in the county, the MAB unit and crew would be dispatched to perform medical services for multiple victims.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold and Fire Chief John Ray formally introduced the new vehicle to a small group of fireman, local fire chiefs, employees and members of the media there to take a look inside the new unit.

The (MAB),  a specialized Emergency Medical Services treatment/transportation vehicle, will be used for mass casualty incidents, and was already called upon earlier this month when a bus accident occurred in Queen Anne's County. Although the call was canceled, it's these types of emergencies that set this vehicle apart from the regular fleet of ambulances.

Ray said that the unit will hold 14 patients on stretchers or 26 seated, and is a valuable resource in the event of an evacuation of a nursing home, hospital or mall, like Arundel Mills, and also noted the proximity of BWI airport and the commuter trains—all venues for large groups of people.

John Scholz, deputy chief of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, echoed Ray in recognizing that the county is a hot spot for recreation from sporting events to the Renaissance Festival. "A hot day at the festival could take up to a fifth of our ambulance fleet," said Scholz, adding that the MAB would be sent instead to tend to the victims of heat stroke. 

Likening the mobile bus to a "M.A.S.H." unit in situations like a tornado, Scholz said high priority patients could be served inside the MAB, while other less serious cases could be handled outside of the unit. "It is a very multi-faceted, multi-use unit," he said.

Leopold, speaking from a podium set-up in a front parking lot of the police station, gestured toward the memorial behind him when speaking about the new MAB. "It is a reminder of the importance of being vigilant to protect our freedoms. It (the MAB) is a tremendous asset to our region."

Leopold also referenced the tornado that devastated Joplin, MO, on Sunday as case in point that natural disasters are indeed a real threat to citizens.

This is the first of two MAB units (the other is located in Howard County) that will be servicing the Baltimore regional area and one of 20 that are currently in service throughout the United States. Some of the perks of the vehicle include a 20 kilowatt generator for independent operation, wireless communication for crew, a slide-out stretcher system, large oxygen system for up to 23 patients and a refrigerator for storing temperature-sensitive medications and rehabilitation supplies.

The unit cost $443,000 and was purchased through grants from the Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and will be housed at the Hammonds Dorsey Fire Station #21 on Dorsey Road. Another grant for $80,000 will provide advance life support equipment for the unit in the near future.