The first mountain ambulance, now operational in Gorj

Unique project in Romania: Salvamont Gorj was equipped with the first ambulance-type intervention car in the country, specially designed for mountain conditions and hard-to-reach areas. This vehicle, an innovative prototype developed by Salvamont Gorj, was recently approved and praised at the International Mountain Rescue Congress in Toblach, Italy.

The vehicle has an outstanding capacity to transport mountain rescuers and casualties, being equipped with advanced medical technology, including defibrillators, mini vital signs monitors and a thermal isolation system for casualties. It also includes specialized equipment for rescue from steep areas and support for helicopter interventions. The new car is a hybrid car, adapted to navigate varied terrain, combining ecological efficiency with performance in emergency situations.

The car was designed on a hybrid car with power and real access qualities in varied terrain with the following features and equipment:
– Mountain rescuer transport capacity – 5 pers.
– Casualty transport capacity – 1 casualty on a stretcher and two rescuers
– Medical equipment: medical kit – 2 pcs, defibrillator, mini vital functions monitor, secretion aspirator, oxygen tube, splints and vacuum mattress, thermal insulation system for the injured, etc.
– Equipment for rescue from steep slopes: wheeled stretcher for rescue and transport, rescue tripod, manual winch, battery-operated winch, work and intervention equipment for four rescuers (harnesses, helmets, ropes, rollers, pulleys, blockers, carabiners, transport bags etc.
– Equipment for rescue with aero support for two rescuers: helmets with radio communication system, work equipment and helicopter intervention – aero harnesses, aero intervention kit, Lezard safety system.
– Radio communication equipment in digital and Tetra system consisting of mobile stations mounted on the vehicle and portable stations for rescuers as well as mobile repeater for signal amplification.
– Infrared search system and transmission of images via bluetooth to the command center or to the tablets or portable devices of the rescuers.
– Mobile center for analysis of data collected by drones based on artificial intelligence.
– Search and rescue drone with live transmission of images in the command center or on the monitor located on the vehicle.
– Portable monitor for tracking images

Moreover, at the beginning of this year, the Department for Emergency Situations and the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations allocated two more Salvamont intervention vehicles, also equipped with trailers for rescue dogs, which will help to ensure an adequate intervention capacity for the four mountain rescue teams, the speleological rescue team, the aquatic and underwater intervention team and the special intervention team from the Mountain Rescue Service of the Gorj County Council.

This achievement is the result of close collaboration between the Gorj mountain rescuers and the Gorj County Council.

Salvamont Gorj is part of the emergency structure of the Gorj County Council and operates with multiple specialized teams, including speleological rescue and underwater interventions. Ongoing efforts to improve response capacity have recently been bolstered by the addition of two new vehicles equipped with rescue dog trailers, expanding the service’s response capacity.

In 2023, Gorje rescuers intervened in a number of 282 accidents, of which more than half required transport with Salvamont intervention vehicles to the hospital or to the meeting place with SAJ, SMURD ambulances or the SMURD IGAV helicopter.