A year after approving the purchase of a 21-passenger ambulance, Montgomery County commissioners got a first look at the $1.25 million vehicle Tuesday.
“As the county continues to grow, the need for equipment like the county’s new special operations vehicle has become increasingly necessary,” said County Judge Mark Keough. “We’re known for hosting large events year-round, and this vehicle ensures that if we have a large-scale incident, we can adequately respond to keep our residents safe.”
In August 2022, commissioners agreed to purchase the ambulance after a fire forced the evacuation of several residents at a Willis nursing and rehabilitation home.
No one was injured in the fire, but Jason Millsaps, executive director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said that incident led the way for emergency officials to be better prepared to deal with public health emergencies and disaster response.
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“It’s a very versatile vehicle to add to the fleet of emergency medical equipment in the county,” Millsaps said.
Millsaps said the vehicle stretches 49 feet long and will hold 21 patients on stretchers or sitting. The unit is also large enough to hold six medical personnel.
The unit will be the fifth of its kind in the region. Agencies in Houston, Atascocita, Fort Bend County and a private-run unit in the Beaumont area currently have the large ambulances, he said.
Millsaps said the Montgomery County Hospital District will staff the ambulance when needed and the county has at least eight drivers licensed to drive the unit.
“This wouldn’t sit idle,” Millsaps said. “There are thousands of reasons to get this out and used.”
Randy Johnson, CEO of the hospital district, said the ambulance would be critical in mass casualties, natural disasters, and events like the Hermann Memorial Ironman event in The Woodlands.
“There are lots of events where they are not emergency events but are an urgent event,” Johnson said, explaining that the unit could replace numerous ambulances typically at a large event. “The driver would bring the unit out to the event and then we would coordinate care on scene.”
The County Attorney’s Office is developing an agreement to make the vehicle available to other agencies in the county, including fire departments and police departments.
