A brand-new ambulance has arrived in Hay River.

The vehicle, which cost the town about $156,000, arrived on April 20 and was put in service the next day.

Fire Chief Ross Potter said he is most definitely happy to have a new ambulance for the fire department.

鈥淚t replaced a 1995 unit. The old unit was done,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ver 26 years, there鈥檚 an awful lot of wear and tear that happens to a rig, and we were having lots of engine problems with it and that type of thing.鈥�

Potter said the main difference between the newer and older vehicles is reliability.

鈥淪o less chance of it breaking down in the middle of a call or anything like that,鈥� he said.

In fact, that actually happened with the old ambulance, he said. 鈥淲e had batteries go dead in the old one while being on call. That鈥檚 not a good thing.鈥�

The new ambulance was built in Nova Scotia on the chassis of a Ford E-350 van. It was trucked across Canada to Hay River.

It is the first new ambulance for Hay River since 2014.

Potter said a new vehicle like this arrives basically empty of medical equipment.

鈥淥ur gadgets are pretty much portable, so we just moved everything from one ambulance to the other,鈥� he said, noting the inside of a new ambulance only comes with cabinetry and meters for oxygen.

The fire department operates two ambulances, and Potter believes they should be good for many years.

鈥淚n my opinion, the ambulances should be changed about every 20 years,鈥� he said.

Potter was asked whether two ambulances are enough for the town.

鈥淎t this point it is,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had lots of occasions this year where we鈥檝e had both ambulances out at the same time.鈥�

The old ambulance will now be put up for public auction.

It is now out of service and sitting in the town鈥檚 public works yard.