Sonny Merryman delivered six new Starcraft Allstar XL shuttles buses to the Tidewater EMS team in 2020. The new buses are customized to care for and transport patients during a mass medical emergency incident. Check out this video from HRMMRS that gives you a first-hand look at the buses.
Originally published by HRMMS.
Used primarily for medical evacuation of mass casualty incidents, the Hampton Roads area has recently obtained six new MCI buses which have the capacity to transport and treat multiple patients. These new buses were paid for with grants from the Urban Areas Securities Initiative that were coordinated by the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Medical Response System (HRMMRS), a TEMS program.
The new MCI buses are smaller, which allows them to get in and out of areas easier and they will replace the older buses that have been used throughout the region since 2008. They also have a lift that can accommodate a wheelchair or stretcher that the previous buses did not, which is extremely important when conducting evacuations of long term care facilities.
The buses are set up and ready for scheduled support for large events like air shows or big races. They will also be dispatched through 911 operators should the first responders on a scene feel they are needed as was the case in December 2019 when three of the MCI transport buses were used to help out with a multi car crash on Interstate 64. These buses may be used not only to evacuate people, but also as a place for firefighters to rest and rehab while working in extreme heat or cold.
Currently, MCI buses are housed at fire and rescue stations throughout the region (Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach, York County, Suffolk and Isle of Wight). Norfolk and Newport News will be getting buses in 2021.