Bloomfield's Penske Leads $8 Million Partnership for Detroit EMS

A group of Detroit-area business leaders — including Bloomfield Hills' Roger Penske — on Monday announced a partnership that will bring new ambulances and up to 100 new police patrol cars to Detroit starting this summer.

The Downtown Detroit Partnership and city's business community will donate  $8 million for new vehicles to be leased to the Detroit Police Department and the Detroit Fire Department. The money will replace the entire ambulance fleet, which currently consists of 23 vehicles that, on average, have 250,000 to 300,000 miles of service and are prone to breakdowns, officials said.

"This is a perfect example of how the business community can work with our city," Penske said, the Huffington Post reported. "We believe these additional vehicles will enhance the visibility of the police and fire efforts in the city of Detroit, improve safety and security in our neighborhoods and have an immediate and lasting impact for everyone who works, lives and plays in Detroit."

Other donors include General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Quicken Loans and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Fire and EMS respond to more than 350 calls on any given day, said Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin. On any given day, four or five ambulances are out of service. The police cruisers must be specially outfitted for equipment and other law enforcement needs, and should be ready withing 60 to 90 days, Penske added.

"We want to have the people in the neighborhoods to understand that these are special cars," Penske said, according to Fox 2 Detroit. "We care about the city, and we want to make these neighborhoods safe."