New ambulances bring safety upgrades to Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Three new ambulances are headed to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, bringing technology designed to help disinfect patient compartments and give drivers a better view of what’s happening behind them.

Community donations are helping fund the fleet upgrade, which will replace aging ambulances, including vehicles that are 10 and 15 years old, Chief Dan Paxton said.

Ambulances face demanding conditions, going from sitting idle to responding to emergency calls within seconds. That puts significant wear on the vehicles, Paxton explained.

The squad evaluated manufacturers with an eye toward addressing electrical, heating and air-conditioning problems before selecting the new vehicles.

Cameras will provide a live view without recording

Cameras installed inside the patient compartments will allow drivers to monitor what is happening in the back. The cameras will not record video, Paxton emphasized.

The squad’s ambulances have a small window between the driver’s area and the patient compartment, but engine noise can make communication difficult. Paxton said the cameras will provide another set of eyes.

“We’re not recording that in any way, shape or form, but it’s for safety so that our drivers can have better situational awareness of what’s going on in the back while they’re driving towards the hospital,” Paxton said.

New lighting will help disinfect ambulances

The vehicles will also have ultraviolet-C, or UVC, lighting systems intended to help disinfect the patient compartment between calls.

Paxton said crews will be able to activate the system with the compartment’s doors shut. The technology is intended to speed up decontamination, a process he said became particularly challenging and time-consuming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Familiar appearance, updated vehicles

The new ambulances will be slightly longer than the squad’s current vehicles, but they will retain its familiar checkered design, known as a Battenberg pattern.

The squad asked the community whether to keep its traditional appearance or choose something different. Paxton said the response overwhelmingly favored keeping the existing pattern, which is being adapted to fit the new vehicles.

The first ambulance is scheduled for pickup Nov. 30, with the second expected about three weeks later and the third in January 2027.

A fourth ambulance is also on order after one of the squad’s newer vehicles was totaled in a crash involving a pole. Paxton said everyone was unharmed. That replacement is expected in the second half of 2027.

Paxton credited community support for making the purchases and technology upgrades possible.

“Because the community has blessed us with generous donations, we are able to go out there and buy the latest, best equipment so that we can continue to provide high-value EMS to this community,” he said.

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