Parts Sales
As I’m told, once you get into the ambulance business you never get out...
Way back around 1977 it was a slow day at the Union 76 station and my boss and I were counting the number of times the orange 76 ball went around in a minute. Our project was interrupted by shouts of “FIRE” from the street in front of the station. More precisely it was coming from an ambulance in the left turn lane. We grabbed a couple of fire extinguishers and ran (I was much thinner then) out to the vehicle sending the smoke signals for help. Turned out it was a battery cable running up to the old time battery selector switch on the side of the seat base. It had rubbed through and grounded out to the metal floor. A short length of heater hose and some electrical tape and the ambulance was safe to drive back to their station.
Well, the rest is history. They called my boss who said we were ambulance repair specialists (I was a State licensed Smog, Brake and Lamp adjuster and he was a master salesman), my fate was sealed. The local company I did the quick fix for was AIDS Ambulance in Whittier, Ca. They changed their name for some reason in the early 80’s just before being absorbed into Corporate EMS. That lead to my joining the Fleet Service staff at Mercy Ambulance in San Bernardino county which became Mercy / Medic-1 which became CareLine which became CareLIne California which became MedTrans which became American Medical Response. Through the years I became an ASE certified Master Auto Tech (twice recertified) with the Advanced Engine Performance certification along with earning certifications in Med/Hvy Duty Truck and School Bus programs. To “speak the lingo” I also certified as an EMT1A here in Los Angeles County but never worked a day on the medical side of the ambulance world.
When AMR chose to merge two Fleet Shops in the Los Angeles area it resulted in an excess of Fleet Managers and I soon found myself “exploring other employment options”. On a cool January morning in 2000 I answered my phone to find Mr. Jose Valdez on the other end asking if I was interested in working for Leader. The answer to that question should be obvious.
I’m here for your parts needs, technical assistance questions and if you’re close by, service on your Leader or “Brand X” vehicles as well. If for no other reason, come by… see how the magic happens and find out what goes on behind the scenes to build your Leader vehicles!