Retired bus to be converted into mobile rehab center

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A retired Putnam County Schools bus will soon serve as a mobile rehabilitation center for the local fire department and other rescue agencies across Putnam County. 

Cookeville Fire Chief John Kendrick wrote a letter to Kathleen Airhart, director of the district, requesting the donation of a bus. The school board approved the donation earlier this month, the Herald-Citizen reports.

"There have been several of us within the department who have been kicking a couple ideas around in the past two or three years about trying to come up with some sort of vehicle that we could make into a large rehab vehicle," Kendrick told the newspaper. "So, at large fire scenes, long-term incidents or extremely hot days, we would have the capability of getting more than two or three people in the back of an ambulance (to cool down.)"

Within the next year, he plans to install an air conditioning system, an onboard generator, pre-piped oxygen connections, a refrigerator and possibly an RV-style bathroom on the bus. Kendrick added that the fire department’s goal is to be able to accommodate eight to 12 people in the vehicle.

This is the first proposed vehicle of its kind for Putnam County, according to the Herald-Citizen.