Bartow, Fla. (June 4, 2024) – This week, Polk County Fire Rescue will deploy two additional advanced life support (ALS) ambulances to help with the county’s increased call volume.
In 2023, Polk County Fire Rescue responded to 125,000 calls for service, of which 102,091 were medical emergencies where ALS ambulances were needed. The ambulances will provide additional capacity in the high-performance system to address the growing call volume in the county and realign the EMS workload distribution.
The two ALS units will cover the area surrounding Medulla Station 02 and Saddle Creek Station 39 in Lakeland. They will be staffed with paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
“We are excited to strategically add the two ambulances, increasing our capacity to 44 ambulances. The units will also address the growing call volume and transport needs in the South Lakeland/North Mulberry areas and East Lakeland/West Auburndale areas,” said Fire Chief Hezedean A. Smith, D.M.
The Braun ambulances were purchased in 2022 with the department’s general vehicle replacement fund and are scheduled to be inspected/delivered by July. During that period, the department is also set to receive an additional six ambulances. They will be used to replace older ambulances, which will transition as reserves for peak times and as needed.
