The Moraga-Orinda Fire District board accepted an Assistance to Firefighters Grant award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will allow the district to outfit four of its ambulances with self-loading gurneys.
"The self-loading gurneys are better for the patient, and they are better for the firefighters, too," said Fire Chief Stephen Healy. "Firefighters won't blow out their backs lifting so much weight from the ground."
The gurneys operate using a battery-powered hydraulic system which supports a cot on which the patient lies, and with the push of a button, the patient is loaded into or unloaded from the ambulance.