HIGH POINT, N.C. — Several Washington, D.C.-area fire departments purchased specially equipped Thomas Built buses to be used as medical emergency vehicles.

The seven Saf-T-Liner front-engine buses are similar to those built for school districts nationwide, but their interiors can accommodate 20 patients on stretchers and five medical personnel for administering care en route to a hospital. Ambulances can typically only handle one or two patients.

“In the event of a major medical emergency — whether it’s a subway accident, multi-casualty incident or a terrorist attack — it may be necessary to transport large numbers of victims to the hospital,” said Tom Carr, fire chief of the Montgomery County (Md.) Fire and Rescue Service, which coordinated the purchase.

The interior of each bus features wall-mounted cots stacked three levels high, oxygen stations for each patient, a fold-out ramp at the rear of the bus for loading stretchers, and an under-floor generator for powering medical equipment and roof-top air-conditioning units. Emergency lights and sirens were added to the exterior of the buses, which are painted in the colors of the different fire departments.

The buses were purchased from American Bus Sales in Annapolis, Md., using funds from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Interior conversions were done by Sartin Services of Archdale, N.C.