Is it true that some/all ambulances* “on call” at ambulance stations are left with their engines running ?

Was told this yesterday and wondered if there was any substance.

I worked next to an ambulance station for years and never saw any vehicles with engines running

Ambulances and to some extent fire appliances are left running due to the massive electrical load imposed by all the Gucci ancillary systems. In the fire service we have the luxury of bieng able to ” plug them in ” to ensure it will start my colleagues in the ambulance service don’t have this luxury hence vehicles left running. Our budget is provided partly by council tax partly by central government and the elected fire authority agree how the budget is spent our budget has never altered to reflect a surplus or more usually a deficit. So essentially a percentage of all fuel duty paid by a FRS comes from your council tax and goes straight into the treasury and at the risk of going on about it of we didn’t pay it we would have it to spend elsewhere. The spend it or lose it culture ended with us ten years ago. Just for interest average fuel consumption of a fire appliance around a mile per litre including responding routine and pumping use.

Any more for any more?

Bump.

Please read & consider signing the petition.

Is it true that some/all ambulances* “on call” at ambulance stations are left with their engines running ?

Certainly not in our trust, we have plug in charges because of all the electrical gear they have now they need to be on charge if idle for too long they start to shut of these down. They usually left running though as always out, we don’t have the luxury of the Fire Service of being in most of the day.