Bid Awarded for Mass Casualty Unit

The Brick Township Council has awarded a $339,466 contract to New Jersey Emergency Vehicles, a Wall Township-based company, to build a mass casualty response unit for the Brick Township Police Department.

The entire cost of the vehicle will be funded by a Homeland Security grant from the state.

The vehicle is designed to act as a mobile triage unit that can go out to large accidents or disaster scenes and help medical personnel treat patients before they are taken to hospitals. The Brick-based vehicle will be one of five strategically placed throughout the state. Previously, if such a unit was needed in Brick, it would have had to come from Camden or Trenton, officials have said. Brick will be the only municipality in Ocean County to have a unit of its own.

Business Administrator Scott Pezarras has said the ambulance will serve the entire local area, though Brick will have permanent access to it. Other towns or agencies that use the ambulance will pay for its operation outside of Brick, Pezarras said.