By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
As part of the Great Bend Fire Department vehicle replacement plan, GBFD has implemented a plan so that aging equipment is replaced before it becomes unreliable for emergency response and while the vehicle has some trade-in or resale value.
Great Bend Fire Chief Brent Smith said two bids were received, and the City Council approved the low bid of $359,400 from American Response Vehicles (ARV) for a 2027 F550 ambulance.
"Luckily, once ARV sets the bid, it is locked in place," said Smith. "There are very few vendors now that are allowing that to happen. Most of them either want the money upfront or it's a floating cost...it may go up or it may go down. We know it's just going to go up."
The price includes Great Bend’s trade-in of their 2014 model ambulance. Smith said delivery of the new ambulance will take between two and a half and three years.
Last March, the City Council approved a $352,357 purchase from American Response Vehicles for a 2025 ambulance. The delivery of that ambulance was also listed to arrive in two and a half to three years.