The new ambulance also has a power stretcher installed, which Weber said is much easier to use than a traditional stretcher.

The department's old ambulance is 12 years old and was beginning to have mechanical issues due to its age.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Nearly two years after originally placing an order for the vehicle, Lanesborough has a new blue ambulance, which went into service Tuesday night.

The town's Emergency Medical Services placed the order for the nearly $300,000 ambulance in June of 2021 after approval at annual town meeting. The ambulance, currently awaiting some final decals, arrived Monday night and was ready for use by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

"They were able to get the radios in yesterday, and the graphics guy did most of the things yesterday so that we were just ready to go," said EMS Director Jen Weber. "We had all the supplies already settled of what needed to go in. We've done a little bit of organizing since then, but she's been ready to go."

Weber said the new ambulance is a significant upgrade over the previous setup both for driving and the patient cabin. The old ambulance, Weber said, is 12 years old and was beginning to have mechanical issues due to its age. It is expected to go to auction.

"A 12-year-old ambulance is incredibly old," she said, noting that increased call volumes in recent years has put further strain on the aging vehicle. "Actually, the state recommends replacement about every four-to-six years, so we had doubled the time spent."

The truck body for the new vehicle, a Ford F550, is bigger than the old model, but the cabin is about the same size. In addition to the technology upgrades, Weber said the new ambulance should be more maneuverable and useful overall.

"We've actually been able to switch from diesel to gas," she said. "It's four-wheel drive, which our other one wasn't. So that gives us a lot more mobility during the winter ... We were able to customize a lot of things for us that made a lot of sense."

The new ambulance also has a power stretcher installed, which Weber said is much easier to use than a traditional stretcher.

"It has the arms that come out, where we used to use our bodies to lift the patient, and then you had to push it in," she said. "That all happens mechanically [with the new stretcher]."

Weber said she is hopeful the new ambulance will allow Lanesborough EMS to offer the best service possible as it waits for progress on the town's combined Police and Ambulance building project.

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