Drivers down Simpson Avenue or in the county at large may have noticed an old ambulance sitting outside the county health department office, or out on the roads.

With faded patches where the Aberdeen Fire Department flashes used to be, the ambulance no longer serves the living, but with the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office, as the department continues its quest to modernize and integrate ever more efficiently into operations with county agencies.

“That was one of the things I started looking at when we first came here. There’s planning we trying to coordinate with other county officials for a large scale incident,” said Coroner George Kelley. “A mass fatality doesn’t have to be 20, 30, 40 deceased. It has to be something that will tax our resources. It could be three. It could be a plane crash. It could be a bus crash.”

Part of planning for that was expanding the department’s assets beyond the current response vehicle, a pickup truck, Kelley said.

“The truck is good for responding. This is for something more along the lines of we have a car crash and we have multiple victims,” Kelley said. “We need to be prepared for if we need to respond to a situation with more than few victims we can do so. This fits the bill perfectly.”

An ambulance surplussed out by AFD was an ideal fit, Kelley said.

“I knew Aberdeen Fire Department had a retired ambulance. It was just sitting.” Kelley said. “(We’re) trying to balance the cost, trying to be frugal with the county’s money.”

Paid for out of the coroner’s office budget, the former ambulance now serves to expand their capability in the case of a major incident, Kelley said. The vehicle has more space than the response pickup, Kelley said, and allows for more support on-scene, as well as supplies that a response might require.

“We’ve equipped it. I have backboards in there. I have a gurney in there. We have hazmat suits and gloves,” Kelley said. “Even if we have family members we want to get out of the weather, we can bring them in there. It provides a lot more options for us.”

It also frees up the response vehicle while the former ambulance can be used to transport a body out of county, Kelley said.

“It’s been very helpful when we transport decedents to Thurston County for examination. It keeps our response vehicle here in town,” Kelley said. “I try to keep the investigator that’s on duty here locally so they can respond to those calls.”

While the department looks for options on how to clean up the used appearance outside, the former ambulance is doing its job perfectly, Kelley said.

“I think it’s a more dignified transportation,” Kelley said. “As far as being able to do our job, it’s almost paid for itself for us. It’s huge. It makes our job so much easier.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.

Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World County Coroner George Kelley points out a feature in the former ambulance the coroner’s office recently purchased to support expanded operations.