E6. Award Ambulance BidKALISPELL
Jay Hagen - Fire Chief
Ken Whitehair - Assistant Chief
Cec. Lee - Administrative Assistant
FIRE DEPARTMENT
REPORT TO: Jarod Nygren, City Manager
FROM: Jay Hagen, Fire Chief
SUBJECT: Bid Award for Type 1 Ambulance
MEETING DATE: March 2, 2026
PO BOX 1997
312 F` Ave East
Kalispell, Montana 59901
Phone: (406) 758-7760
FAX: (406) 758-7777
BACKGROUND: The Fire Department budgeted through the Emergency Responder Levy to add
a Type 1 Ambulance to be stationed at the new Fire Station 63 in association with the completion of
the new station and associated additional staffing.
The city advertised an invitation to accept bids to construct a Type 1 Ambulance. The bid required
the inclusion of the Ford Extended Cab F-450, gasoline powered, four-wheel drive with standard
ambulance features. The city received bids from 4 bidders, as follows:
• Apgar/Braun Ambulance $339,722.00
• Sawtooth Emergency Vehicles $321,000.00
• Apgar/Demers Ambulance $289,990.00
• PSS/AEV Ambulance $287,416.00
The range in cost of the four bids received from high to low was $52,306.00 dollars.
The recommended bid is Sawtooth Emergency Vehicles. The reasons for recommending this mid-
range bid are:
• Previous customer service received in terms of responsiveness, follow-through, and
providing timely solutions that allow reduced downtime.
• Maintaining fleet consistency of the patient compartment. General service regarding parts,
diagnostics, and efficiency of performing required maintenance.
• Sawtooth will remount the box onto a new chassis up to 3 times and warrantee the original
box saving the city approximately $50,000 on each remount. Sawtooth is a known quality,
cost, and has a quick turnaround time for box remounts.
ACTION REQUESTED: Award the Sawtooth Emergency Vehicles bid.
FISCAL EFFECTS: The cost of the new ambulance is supported in the levy budget. It is included
in line item 2273-416-420400-940 in the Public Safety Levy budget for FY 25/26.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested and approved by the City Council.