HIGH POINT, N.C., – The federal government has taken notice of High Point, N.C.-based Sartin Services' newest product (MAB), Mobile Evacuation Bus, and is helping to spawn enormous interest from across the nation for this first-of-its-kind rescue vehicle. Government officials have already ordered seven for Washington, DC area fire departments, and recently unveiled the vehicles in grand fashion at the Capitol building during a major press conference March 29.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Fire Chiefs Committee attended the event to get a hands-on look at the inaugural vehicles, which are destined for fire departments in the Washington D.C. area including Montgomery County, Maryland. The buses were purchased with federal grants from the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security’s Urban Area Security Initiative.
"We are so pleased that the government shares our excitement about these vehicles and realizes the potential for helping people in the event of a major accident, a terrorist action, a pandemic or a natural disaster such as a hurricane. Our goal in developing this vehicle was to give responding rescue and medical personnel the tools they needed to care for and transport large numbers of patients which we hope will save lives," said Ed Sartin, president of Sartin Services.
Increased interest for these vehicles is already evident with numerous federal, state and local agencies contacting Sartin to have a look at his exclusive invention.
Sartin designed the vehicle with several unique components that give caregivers the tools they need to treat or transport large numbers of patients or victims in the event of a large-scale emergency. A sliding stretcher stacking system allows medical personnel to load as many as 24 patients on one bus. A large
oxygen storage and distribution system provides a long term supply of oxygen and an individual metered oxygen supply for each patient. A large adjustable ramp that stores under the bus is used for loading or unloading patients. The ramp can be positioned at different height levels to accommodate the loading or unloading needs of medical personnel. The bus also has many other special features including a nurse's station, seating for medical personnel, an onboard generator, electrical outlets and storage compartments for medical machines and equipment, emergency lighting and siren, heating and air conditioning. Sartin has filed several patent applications on the vehicle and components. The system is not only limited to a bus, it can be installed on trucks, tractor-trailers, trains, subway cars, railroad cars or airplanes.
“The ambulance buses filled a large gap,” said Chief Thomas Carr of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. “A typical ambulance can carry one or two patients, but the giant ones eliminate the caravan of ambulances that can crowd emergency scenes.”
Sartin Services, Inc.specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of custom interiors on buses, emergency response vehicles, mobile command centers and the new (MAB) Mobile Evacuation Bus. The company’s parts division ships transportation related parts all over the United States and to seven foreign countries. It is one of the largest bus conversion companies in the country installing school bus air conditioning and other specialty products in thousands of buses each year.
CONTACT: Ed SartinPresident, 336/841-5505Mary Ann SmithPublic Relations, 336/883-8800 x225