New Iqaluit ambulances ‘ride quite nicely’: Fire chief
Smaller, more compact vehicles can navigate tighter roadways
Iqaluit fire chief Soloman Tagak poses next to the city’s new ambulance. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
If you find yourself in a medical emergency in Iqaluit, there’s a chance paramedics will take you to the hospital in one of their brand new ambulances.
Iqaluit’s new ambulance. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
The City of Iqaluit has doubled the size of its ambulance fleet with the addition of two vehicles, which arrived by sealift last month.
“They do ride quite nicely, and due to their compact design they do fit into some of the more difficult areas of town,” said Solomon Tagak, the city’s fire chief.
“There are some houses in the downtown core close to the graveyard where there are tighter roads in between the housing units. These ambulances will be able to fit through those narrow driveways a little bit easier.”
The new ambulances are 2024 Ford Transits. They look a bit different from the two older, boxier vehicles the city has been using for the past few years.
At least one of the new vehicles has already been used to respond to fires and medical emergencies.
The city’s 2025 capital budget, which was approved by council last year, includes two ambulances on its list of vehicle purchases at a total cost of $600,000.
Even with their smaller sizes, the new ambulances are stocked with equipment like first responder jumper bags that contain essential medical supplies, CPR compression devices, and automated external defibrillators — all needed in order to respond to a variety of medical emergencies.
“It took a little time to kind of figure out where we’re going to put all of the items,” Tagak said.
“It’s a little bit of a growing pains process to really find something that works well and efficiently for us, as well as for the community, but we do still carry all the same equipment on these two ambulances that we do with the original ones.”
The new ambulances also await stickers that will allow them into the secure area of the airport so they can transport medevac patients. Until then, the city can still use its two older ambulances for this service.
In recent years, the fire department has responded to about 4,000 calls for service each year, or around 11 calls per day, Tagak said. That’s higher than the approximately 2,300 calls reported in 2010.
With the increased demand, having more ambulances means the fire department is better prepared to help the community, he said.
“If we’re experiencing simultaneous calls, or call after call after call, we have the resources needed to respond to all those calls,” Tagak said.
The Iqaluit fire department fleet now consists of four ambulances, two fire trucks and two command vehicles. A tender is out to acquire a new pumper truck as well.
And if you find yourself in a medical emergency anywhere else than Iqaluit, you better know someone with a vehicle or be friends with the rcmp.
The Cambridge Bay Fire Department waves hello. I believe the Rankin Inlet Fire Department also would have something to say.
Yes, the Rankin Inlet Fire department also provides ambulance services.
Those ambulance rides generate $900.00 of revenue for Iqaluit for each ride. What a money machine.
It may look like a cash machine
But if you look at the the Debt list of the city or better past debt list you will see them as being write off ‘s because people don’t pay the ambulance fee’s
There are typos on the backs of some of the new ambulances – the big word “incendies” in French at the back of the vehicles are missing an N, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are typos in other languages or the smaller print on them.