New EMS truck request heads to Metro Council

1:25 p.m. April 29, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Metro Moore County EMS is short one vehicle after a 2010 Ford Explorer was pulled from service over airbag and rollover-sensor concerns. Now, Public Safety Director Jason Deal is asking county leaders to replace it with a 2500 4x4 pickup.

The Budget Committee unanimously recommended the purchase on Tuesday, sending it to the Metro Council for a final vote.

Amy Cashion, Bradley Dye, and John Taylor were present. Marty Cashion and Gerald Burnett were absent.

Deal is requesting a 4x4 pickup to replace the Explorer, which had been used as a primary medical response vehicle. The truck would cost $48,365 through the state contract price.

Deal said the purchase would be covered by $30,303 from the annual EMS Equipment Grant and $18,062 from EMA reserve funds built from unused grant money.

In other words, the county would not use property tax dollars for the vehicle.

Deal said the issue surfaced around the first of March, when a Moore County EMS medic was responding to a call in the Explorer and the vehicle began displaying safety warning lights associated with the rollover sensor. The Explorer was pulled from service, and Deal temporarily gave EMS his 2018 Tahoe to use for daily response while he drove his personal vehicle.

The Explorer was sent to a shop for repairs, where mechanics found that the airbag sensors and system were not working. According to Deal’s written explanation, the required parts were no longer being made and could not be located. Mechanics said they would have to search salvage yards for the parts.

Given the Explorer’s age and the safety concerns for employees, Deal said the decision was made to park it and look for another solution.

The Explorer filled a specific EMS need. It could be used to reach patients in places where an ambulance could not easily go, and it allowed crews to load a patient from the rear while keeping the patient flat, if spinal immobilization was needed.

The proposed pickup would give EMS four-wheel-drive access in places an ambulance cannot safely reach, including farms, steep or rugged driveways, and other remote locations. It would also help during inclement weather and could be used to tow the mass casualty trailer and other EMS equipment.

Deal said the county’s other public safety vehicles are already assigned to specific jobs. His Tahoe is set up as a command-and-communications unit. The F-150 4x4 is used for search-and-rescue work, including K9 transport. The Dodge 2500 is equipped for fire response.

That leaves EMS without a true replacement for the Explorer.

For now, EMS has been using the Tahoe for daily response, while Deal has relied on his own vehicle and, temporarily, a reserve or pool car made available by Sheriff Tyler Hatfield.