How many ambulances are there in the US?  My objective is to determine
the potential market size for a new medical device that would be used
by emergency technicians.  The closest equivalent today might be a
defibrillator, which is now standard in all emergency vehicles.

Hi prdeepak,

There are approximately 40,000 ambulances currently operating in the United States.

"We believe the opportunity for growth in the under-penetrated
pre-hospital market encompassing public safety responders and vehicles
is large. Presently, we believe that approximately 80% of the
estimated 35,000 ambulances in the U.S. are equipped with
defibrillators. We believe that the number of ambulances equipped with
defibrillators will reach 100%, and that other first response
emergency vehicles will represent an increasingly important market for
cardiac resuscitation equipment as the medical community places
increased priority on providing such equipment and the necessary
training to all first responders. We believe that as older
defibrillators are replaced on ambulances and other emergency
vehicles, they will include additional monitoring capabilities and
features necessary to provide better patient care. We believe we are
well positioned to respond to these needs with superior products.

Public Access Defibrillation Market. This market includes
non-traditional, non-healthcare users of automated external
defibrillators such as the AED Plus. We believe this market is growing
because of the increased awareness of the lifesaving potential of
simplified lower cost devices, which can be used before the arrival of
professional rescuers. Efforts by the AHA, American Red Cross,
National Safety Council, and National Center for Early Defibrillation
should help to expand public knowledge of AEDs and increase the demand
for these devices."

ZOLL Medical Corporation
http://www.zoll.com/investordocs/2004_10KA%20%20DEC%2023%20AS%20FILED.doc


====================================================


"Today, the standard in the US - where 40,000 ambulances respond to
half a million 911 calls a day - is eight minutes or less. The most
advanced vehicles pack everything from wireless webcams to
magnet-controlled respirators..."

Wired Magazine - The Bleeding Edge
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/start.html?pg=12


====================================================


"Today nationwide there are more than 2 million trained first
responders, medically trained telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians, paramedics, emergency nurses and physicians. There are
more than 14,000 ambulance services which operate about 40,000
licensed ambulances..."

MCEMS Online
http://www.montcopa.org/eoc/MCEMS/consumer/whatems.htm


====================================================


"In the United States alone there are 5,600 acute care hospitals,
1,000 other hospitals, 45,000 ambulances 75,000 fire department-based
vehicles, 260,000 police vehicles, 190,000 allied medical sites as
well as 290,000 first responder sites..."

NAIOT - CPR Devices Ltd.
http://www.naiot.com/html/life/cprdevices.htm


====================================================
====================================================


Search criteria:
"number of ambulances"
"total of * ambulances" US
"35000..50000 ambulances"
"35000..50000" ambulances


I hope the information provided is helpful. If you have any questions
regarding my answer please don?t hesitate to ask before rating it.

Best regards,
Rainbow

---

Request for Answer Clarification by prdeepak-ga on 01 Sep 2005 10:32 PDT

Thanks for your answer, rainbow!  I learned as much from your
technique as from the data.  (Who knew I could search for
"1000..100000 ambulances" in Google?)

>> It's hard to tell from your citations whether these people are all
recycling the same idea, or whether the 40,000 number comes from a
reliable source.  Can you find a root source behind these magazine
citations?


Thanks!
- Deepak

---

Clarification of Answer by rainbow-ga on 01 Sep 2005 16:08 PDT

Hi Deepak,

The information that I have provided for you does not originate from
one source. Assuming there is one source, it is not available online.
However, it could very well be available offline and/or unaccessible
to the general public.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask. I will
do my best to assist you.

Best wishes,
Rainbow

Thanks for this answer.  It's helpful, but it doesn't quite give me
what I would ideally want.  What would be ideal would be:
>> to find a "primary source" (e.g., an ambulance association; or a
government agency) that is the source for these journalists. 
(Otherwise, the number could easily be an "urban myth".)  The primary
source would also let me put a year to the number (is it an obsolete
estimate, or quite current), and probably identify trends (are there
more ambulances today, or fewer).

In the end, my favourite part of your answer is teaching me how to use
Google more intelligently myself.

Rgds,
- Deepak