Chicago Tribune
DES PLAINES, Ill. — As Des Plaines looks to replace its aging ambulance fleet, aldermen debated recently where — underneath or above — an ambulance’s exhaust pipe should be located.
Like most passenger vehicles, the burnt fuel that powers the near northwest suburb’s ambulance engines currently is emitted through exhaust pipes located toward the rear of the cab and underneath the chassis -- referred to at a recent City Council meeting as “horizontal exhaust.”
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, those fumes contain pollutants and potentially cancer-causing hydrocarbons. Given that ambulances frequently idle on the scene of a service call, a horizontal exhaust pipe unnecessarily exposes firefighters and patients to dangerous exhaust fumes, said Ald. Jim Brookman, 5th.
Read full story: Des Plaines officials debate ambulance exhaust pipes