The decals on the rear ambulance windows convey a clear message:
“Zombie Outbreak Response Unit.”
“It helps to have a couple of old ambulances,” said Sarah Schutt. “They can haul things, and you have a place to sleep out of the elements.”
The gravel crunches underneath her feet as she walks between vehicles — a couple of old ambulances, several large trucks with giant water tanks on the back and a few silver, boxy trailers. She’s showing off the equipment she and her father Scott own as part of their Ephrata-based business, SISS, which provides cleaning and washing-up services to firefighters combating brush fires.
Which means that summer can be busy time for both Schutts, driving hither and yon to whatever wildfire is raging, as well for the handful of college students who help staff the hand washing stations in the field.
“We have hand wash trailers, that’s primarily what gets sent out,” Sarah said. “They are fully self-contained, they run off generators, and there are guys who deliver potable water out there.”