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UnderstandingtheNFPA1917ambulancestandard
AlookatwhatNFPA1917meansforambulancedesignandhowwegothere
ByRobertAvsec
For about as long as there has been EMS in the United States, there has been the "Triple K" specifications for
ambulances. The KKKA1822 specifications were first developed and published by the U.S. General Services
Administrationinthe1970sasthepurchasingspecificationsforfederalambulances.
Atthatsametime,blockgrantswereinvogueasameansfor
distributing federal money to communities, and those block
grants required that vehicle purchases must comply with
federallyapprovedspecifications.
Veryquickly,asthingstendedtohappenintheearlydaysof
EMS,EMSagenciesandlocal,state,andfederalofficialsused
theKKKA1822forambulancepurchasesunderblockgrants
asitwastheonlydocumentavailable.Andthus,KKKA1822
becamethedefactoambulancestandardintheUnitedStates.
Inrecentyears,twodevelopmentshavepromptedthesearch
foramoreapplicableambulancestandard.
First was GSA's decision that it would no longer continue to
maintainthespecificationsthatwereoriginallyfocusedsolely
onavehiclepurchasingdecision.AlthoughGSAhasrevised
and routinely extended the KKK specifications over the past
40plusyears,itneverhadthetechnicalexpertiseinhouseto
keepupwiththerapidlyevolvingambulance.

ExpertAnalysis
Updatedfederalambulance
standardsarestepintheright
direction
ByArthurHsieh

Ifyoueverwonderedwhytheinsidesof
ambulancesintheUnitedStateslookremarkably
alike,youcanthankthefederalKKKstandardsfor
that.Asthisarticleexplains ,whenEMSsystems
begandevelopingintheearly1970s,theU.S.
GeneralServicesAdministration(USGSA)
developedaseriesofambulancestandardsthat
wereusedbystatestopurchaseambulanceswith
assistancefromfederalblockgrants.Thestandards
haveessentiallyremainedthesamesincethen.

Second, there's the increasing number of patients and EMS

providers that are being killed and injured in ambulance
crasheseachyear.

Withoutevolution,thesestandardsmaybe
contributingtounnecessaryinjuriesoreventhe
deathsofEMSproviders.

Those mortality and morbidity numbers prompted the

InternationalAssociationofFireChiefstobeginworkingwith
theNationalFireProtectionAssociationin2009todevelopa
true standard for a safer ambulance. Their work culminated
with the approval of NFPA 1917: Standard for Automotive
AmbulancesinAugust2012.

Forexample,doyouwearaseatbeltinthebackof
therig?Chancesareverylikelythatyoudonot,
andtheanswerforwhyissimpleyoucantdo
anythingwiththepatientonceyourebelted.Loose
itemsonthebenchorshelvesbecomemissiles
whenairborne.And,letsnotmentionthatthe
seeminglysolidsidewallsoftheboxareanything
butprotectivetheresenoughphotosontheweb
toshowhoweasytheambulancewallscrumple
andsplitinacrash.

WhatisNFPA1917?
Developed with consideration of KKKA1822 and NFPA
1901: Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, NFPA 1917
defines the minimum requirements for the design,
performance,andtestingofnewautomotiveambulances.
The standard presents general requirements for ambulance
design and performance, along with standalone chapters for
ambulance components including chassis, patient
compartment, lowvoltage electrical systems and warning
devices,andlinevoltageelectricalsystems.NFPA1917also
specifiesprovisionsfortestmethods.
Initially,thishadtobeviewedasawinforallpartiesinvolved.
GSA would be relieved of its responsibility for maintaining a
standard for which it was never fully intended and EMS
providers and patients would get a safer ambulance. There
were,asonewouldexpect,otherentitiesthatdidnothavethe
samepositiveviewpointinitially.
NFPAwasconsideredagoodfitfordevelopingthestandard
becauseofitslonghistoryofdevelopingconsensusorindustry
standards for the fire service. Nonfire EMS organizations,
however,expressedfearsthatthefireservicewastakingover
EMSandthatthestandardwouldrequireallambulancestobe
painted red, have a water tank and be mediumduty
ambulances.
Some of those same organizations expressed fears that they
wouldnothaveavoiceinthestandarddevelopment,andthat
they could not afford the price of an ambulances meeting an
NFPAstandard.Itisunclearhowmuchmorea1917compliant
ambulancewouldcost.
Fearsaddressed
ManyofthosefearswereassuagedwhenthosenonfireEMS
organizations saw NFPA's technical committee makeup. It
includedrepresentativesfromthesegroups.
NationalStateAssociationofEMSOfficials(9percent).
VFIS(3percent).
EmergencyVehicleTechniciansAssociation(3percent).
InternationalAssociationofFirefighters(12percent).
Association of Emergency Vehicle Manufacturers (30

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ContinuereadingUpdatedfederalambulance
standardsarestepintherightdirection
RelatedArticle:
EMS:Weighinonnewgroundambulance
standards

Relatedcontentsponsoredby:

15ambulancechanges

Loadcapacitywillbe171pounds
perseatedposition.
Aseatbeltmonitoringsystemthat
senseswhenaseatisoccupied
andaseatbeltattached.Audible
andvisiblewarningdeviceswill
triggerforcabandpatient
compartmentsiftheparkingbrake
isreleasedandthetransmission
isnotinpark.
Tirepressuremonitors.
Designatehealthcareprovider
seatingpositionsthatare
adjustabletowithin6inchesof
thecot.

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PrintStory:UnderstandingtheNFPA1917ambulancestandardEMS1.com
percent).
Researchtesting(9percent).
NIOSH(6percent).
Users(27percent).
During 2012, the National Association of State EMS Officials
wanted more of a voice in the development and approval of
NFPA 1917. NFPA and NASEMSO collaborated to develop
severalmeetings,hostedbyNASEMSO,toinformandeducate
NASEMSO members about how the NFPA standard
developmentprocessworkedandonthedetailsofNFPA1917.
IAFCandNFPAwerebothactivelypresentinthesemeetings.

AMDtestingstandards.
Speedgovernedformaximum
speedof77mph.
Chevronsonreardoorsinredand
fluorescentyelloworgreen.
Underbodylightingthat
establisheslightingzonesin
whichallareasofthetruckmust
displaycertainwarninglights.

NFPArespondedtothisunprecedentedinterestbyNASEMSO
and its membership by establishing a task group to take a
closerlookatNFPA1917.

Interiorcabinetsmarkedwith
maximumweightrating.

The task group, which included individuals recommended by

NASEMSO, met over the course of two days in January 2013
and out of those sessions came an extensive list of public
commentsthatweresentontoNFPA.Mostofthosecomments
wereacceptedandwillbeincorporatedintothesecondedition
ofNFPA1917,scheduledfor2016.

Itemsmorethan3poundsmust
besecuredinacompartmentor
bydevicethatwithstandsa10g
force.

The current edition of NFPA 1917 is the 2013 edition the

Carbonmonoxidedetector.

revisioncycleforthe2016editionwillbegininmid2015.GSA's
KKKA1822willbesunsetthatis,notberevisedorrenewed
thatsameyear.
Ultimately, when EMS personnel board an ambulance, they
deserve to arrive to their destination safely. When a patient
entersanambulance,weoweittothemtokeepthemsafe.The
adoption and publication of NFPA 1917 is a significant
developmentinhelpingallEMSagenciestoobtainambulances
thatmeetbothofthoseobjectives.

Mudflaps.
Additionalhandrailsatevery
pointofingress.
Certificateofcompliance
exceptionstobecorrectedbefore
placinginservice.
"Donotmove"lightconnectedto
doors,storageracksand
deployeddevices.

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