SPRINGDALE -- The Fire Department is a step closer to obtaining equipment that will alleviate EMT back strain when responding to emergencies.
A committee of the City Council unanimously recommended during their Monday meeting that the council approve waiving competitive bidding for the purchase of powerlifts for ambulances.
At a glance
The committee also recommended approving an ordinance amending Chapter 3 of the city’s Code of Ordinances so that the fine for a false fire alarm doubles after 60 days instead of the current 30 days.
Source: Staff report
Six powerlifts will be purchased from Stryker for $182,912, including sales tax, according to Fire Chief Mike Irwin.
"The reason we want to approve no competitive bidding is because we have Stryker Cots in all the ambulances, and so we want to buy the compatible power lift for those cots," Irwin said Tuesday, prior to the meeting.
The Fire Department could purchase powerlifts from another company but would then have to buy cots that are compatible with those lifts, and as a result have to pay an even higher expense, Irwin said during the meeting.
Alderman Jeff Watson asked if the powerlifts would be purchased right away if approved by City Council, and Irwin confirmed they would be.
The Fire Department has seven ambulances, which have had the Stryker cots since before 2012, the year Irwin became fire chief. One of the ambulances is already equipped with a powerlift that the department obtained to do a trial run.
"(The powerlift) eliminates our guys' need to lift a cot," Irwin said. "It improves our safety and hopefully eliminates back injuries."
The powerlift also benefits patients because it minimizes the possibility of dropping a patient, Irwin said.
The powerlift is located in the back of the ambulance, bolted to the floor and chassis, Irwin said.
"It slides out and has arms that come out and pick up the cot," he said. "Once you plug the cot into the lift, you control the lift by buttons on the cot."
Irwin said his EMTs have suffered back injuries while lifting patients into the ambulance but did not have specific numbers as to how many have been injured.
The purchase of the six powerlifts is budgeted as the Fire Department's largest purchase for 2017. The department will also spend around $120,000 for an ambulance remount, which will involve redoing the patient compartment of one ambulance, Irwin said.
NW News on 01/17/2017