NFPA Ambulance Standards Committee Moves Forward: Where's Ontarios?

Committee chair David Fischler said the new NFPA standard will provide guidelines on the development of a safer vehicle not only for the patients but also for the operators and paramedics onboard.

"Over the last few years, we've seen accidents in which the providers as well as the patients have been killed or seriously injured," Fischler said. "The intent of the committee is to look at what currently exists out there and come up with a standard that will provide a safer ambulance for everyone concerned."

Standards will focus strictly on construction and operation of the vehicle, such as how the mechanical components work on the vehicle, how it is constructed and more. The development of a standard will mimic what has been previously done for fire apparatus, Stewart said.

"They looked at an existing NFPA 1901 for automotive fire apparatus and how they assembled the chapters," Stewart said. "So right now, we are in the ifant steps of tackling the work."

NFPA standards will set what benchmarks an ambulance must meet. Stewart said hey will look at occupancy safety, vehicle stability, electrical equirements for power, lighting systems for warnings, audible systems, and  ptient-care areas arrangement for caregiver of paramedic "to make sure ifthe vehicle is in an accident everyone onboard are in the best position pssible so that they are not going to be compromised," he said.

The next meeting is yet to be scheduled but is expected to take place in the nxt few months. The committee will then be divided into the various task groups that write each chapter. Meetings will be held until the NFPA has a working draft of a document, Stewart said. He noted committee members have the existing KKK ambulance standards published through the U.S. General Services Administration.

"The federal government is looking for someone else to take over writing the specifications for ambulances," Stewart said. "The KKK document was never meant to be a standard; it was really a federal specification used by the federal government to buy ambulances. It never really had performance requirements, as far as how the vehicle had to perform."

Chiefs shouldn't wait for the standards to make needed purchasing decisions, Stewart said.

"I doubt the industry will want to prolong distributing ambulance and don't think those who need ambulances should wait because our process is going to take two years before we have a product available as a standard."

There will be no mandate to adopt the voluntary standards, Stewart said.