History of Ambulance 798

Originally Rescue 7 and Ambulance 78

     When The Third and Sixth District Volunteer Rescue Squad separated into the Leonardtown Volunteer Rescue Squad and Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad, one of the Ambulances Hollywood started with was a 1969 Cadillac Ambulance with a Unit Designation of Rescue 7.

     In the late 70s, Rescue 7 was replaced with a Modular Ford Ambulance.  The term Modular refers to it having the box for a patient compartment (Rescue 7 is on the left in the picture below).

     December 8, 1983 saw Rescue 7's unit designation change to Ambulance 78.

     In 1986 a pair of Ford E-350/Horton Type III Ambulances were delivered to HVRS.  These ambulances were designated Ambulance 78 & 79.  The final unit designation change occurred on February 15, 1986, when St. Mary's County Rescue Squad Ambulances were identified with 3 digits, and these units became Ambulance 798 & 799.

     As part of an order for two new Ambulances in 1991, Ambulance 798 was repalced with a 1991 Ford E-350/Medtec.  Ambulance 798 was dedicated to the memory Past Assistant Chief Rick Knight in 1991 who passed away that same year.  A bronze plaque was installed on the driver's side of the Ambulance.

     Ambulance 798 was "rechassised" in 2002.  The box from the 1991 Ford was removed and mounted on a new 2002 Ford E-450 chassis.  The box was repainted White/Green/Gold at this time and the plaque remembering Past Assistant Chief Rick Knight was reinstalled.  In 2010, Ambulance 798 was replaced with a 2008 GMC C4500/Horton.

This Ambulance 798 was a 2008 GMC C4500/Horton that was purchased in 2010 after it had already served the local dealer for 2 years as a Demonstrator model.  It was the first ever "Medium Duty" ambulance purchased by the HVRS, also making it our first ever ambulance to feature an air-ride suspension.  This unit served us well until it was replaced in 2023 by the new Ambulance 798, a 2022 Ford/Horton medium duty ambulance.

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