RCFD celebrates new ambulance with blessing and wetdown ceremony

RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Rapid City Fire Department adding a shiny new piece of equipment Thursday – something that’s been two years in the making.

Fire Station 1 held a ceremony to inaugurate a brand new ambulance that was delivered back in March.

The department was supposed to get the unit back in 2019, but due to the pandemic, they didn’t receive it until this year, and because of supply-chain delays in getting necessary equipment, they’re just now able to put it into service.

The new ambulance will join RCFD’s fleet of 13 and allow them to move older, higher-mileage vehicles into back-up status.

“We are starting to get up there on miles…we get a new vehicle like this where we can actually get out and run it appropriately and be able to provide that service…everybody can do that with just a little bit more confidence and just know that we are just that much more safe,” said Brent Long, Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services.

Division Chief Long adds that even with the delay, crews have been able to train longer with the new ambulance, which will help them in the long run.

“To have a vehicle that is a smooth ride…a safe ride…the driver’s got full control of it at all times…allows those people to be able to tend to those patients in the back safer – not only for the patient but also for the attendant,” Long said.