Copyright 2006 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.
By YOLANDA JONES
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)
Memphis Fire Department ambulances will be getting a new look.
Orange and white will be out and red and white will be in, thanks to a new law that allows the Memphis and Nashville fire departments to change the color of their ambulances.
Cosponsored by Reps. Ulysses Jones, John DeBerry, Larry Miller, Gary Moore and W.C. Pleasant, the bill passed May 10 and was signed into law May 19.
“Memphis and Nashville fire departments asked us to sponsor the bill to have a distinction between city-run EMS ambulances and private services,” said Jones, a lieutenant with the Memphis Fire Department.
“When they go out on calls people can’t distinguish them, but with the color scheme being uniform with the firetrucks people will know the difference.”
Jones said three decades ago, ambulances were red, the same color as the firetrucks.
In Memphis, the change will likely come after July 1 when the new fiscal year begins, said Alvin Benson, deputy director of fire services for Memphis.
Benson said no decision has been made on whether the department would start painting the 31 ambulances in their current fleet red and white.
In its 2007 budget, the Memphis Fire Department has 16 new ambulances slated for purchase at a cost of $138,000 each for a total of $2.2 million.
These new ambulances will be red and white, Benson said.
“This certainly had appeal to us because now we will have the ambulances look like everything else we drive and this will identify us from others in the area,” he said.
Nashville District Chief Charles Shannon said his department will abide by whatever the state recommends for their fleet.
“We’re orange and white now with our fleet, but we have not had a discussion about the color change as of yet,” he said.
The Tennessee Ambulance Service Association, a 120-member organization, said Memphis and Nashville are members, and if they support the color change, then the association is behind that decision.
“We don’t oppose their decision to have everything uniform in their fleets,” said Chuck Latimer, president of the association.
He said for many fire departments, red and white is a sign of recognition and respect when they go out on calls.
“We’re behind them,” he said.