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NCFPD approves lease purchase agreement for ambulance remount

The North County Fire Protection District will finance the remount of one of its ambulances through a lease purchase agreement.

The NCFPD board voted 5-0 July 24 to approve the lease purchase agreement with Community Leasing Partners in which the fire district will make three annual payments of $50,793.71.

"This is definitely taking advantage of an opportunity to extend the life of an emergency vehicle," said NCFPD fire chief Steve Abbott.

Prior to the closure of Fallbrook Hospital in December 2014, NCFPD ambulances were able to remain in front-line status for five to seven years while accumulating approximately 100,000 miles during that time. The closure of Fallbrook Hospital has caused NCFPD ambulances to transport patients to hospitals further away, and now ambulances accumulate approximately 100,000 miles within a three-year period.

The fire district has a 2013 Life Line ambulance module, and rather than purchasing an entire new ambulance the module will be re-mounted onto a new chassis.

"Close to $70,000 we're going to save," Abbott said. "That's a nice thing."

The price for the remount itself is $145,000. The financing plan includes $7,381.12 in interest payments which brings the total cost to $152,381.12. Community Leasing Partners, which will own the ambulance until the loan is paid off on October 1, 2020, has provided the district with an interest rate of 4.294 percent. The first payment will be due on October 1, 2018.

Life Line expects the remounted ambulance to be returned to Fallbrook in early September.

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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