'A Smart car?': Australia's tiniest emergency service vehicles

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A Fiat 500 was recently spotted in Sydney dressed in an official New South Wales Ambulance outfit, prompting questions about how a patient fits in the back of it. The user posted to the r/CarsAustralia Reddit, asking, “What is this? An ambulance for ants?“.

It turns out the pint-sized Italian hatch isn’t alone in its tiny but life-saving endeavours. Australia has a long history of using small cars for everything from saving lives to putting out fires.

We take a look at some of the smallest Australian emergency service vehicles.

NSW Ambulance Fiat 500

No, this is not an ambulance for ants. The Fiat 500 Ambulance actually plays an important role in assisting people in need.

This particular Fiat 500, called Beryl, was brought in to navigate the Sydney CBD streets while the light rail was under construction and streets were less accessible. Little is published about the mini-ambo, but other users on Reddit claim that the small car is used as a Paramedic Immediate Care Unit (PICU).

PICUs can often be found in a wide range of vehicles, mostly Holden Captivas, Isuzu D-Maxs, and motorcycles, but the Fiat 500 is the perfect size to slip through city streets like a motorcycle while carrying a wide range of equipment that can save lives.

Often, the PICUs are driven/ridden by extensively trained Intensive Care Paramedics who can carry out on-the-spot procedures and stabilise patients before they head into the back of a full-sized ambulance.

The NSW Ambulance Facebook page states that “with [light-rail] construction now complete, Beryl will sign off from her last shift in December 2023”. However, since then she has still been spotted in use around Sydney’s CBD.

NSW Ambulance Smart car

Just when you thought an ambulance couldn’t get any smaller, NSW went to the next level by employing a Smart ForTwo for its fleet.

First introduced in 2009, the Smart ForTwo was initially used as a PICU at events with large crowds, such as the Sydney New Year celebrations.

The then Premier, Kristina Keneally, told the Sydney Morning Herald in a 2009 interview that the FourTwo plays a key role in assisting people in large crowds.

“The advantage of the Smart car is that it will allow our ambulance service to have a quicker response, particularly when it comes to large events,” said Keneally.

The Smart showed more of its worth, while Sydney’s CBD roads were under construction for the light rail.

“The Smart car is part of the CBD light rail response plan and is assisting us in getting to patients in the CBD as quickly as possible given the road closures,” said the NSW Ambulance Facebook page.

The aforementioned Fiat 500 was brought in to replace the aging Smart ForTwo around 2016, which is why the Fiat carries the call sign ‘SMART1’.

NSW Police Fiat 500

It turns out that paramedics aren’t the only ones who see potential in the Fiat 500 as emergency service vehicles – the little Italian also had a short stint as a police car.

This particular squad car was reserved for community policing, where its less intimidating persona helped make the police who drive it more approachable, allowing them to share road safety messages.

“When it comes to visibility, the Fiat 500 has proven to be an exceptional car, attracting attention and interest like no other car we have used,” said Superintendent Wayne Cox, the Leichhardt Local Area Commander, in a 2009 Drive article.

“With its primary role as providing a talking point from which we can discuss road safety and break down any barriers that may exist, the Bambino police car has attracted interest from all areas and all age groups.”

It is uncertain how long the Fiat 500 was in use, but it has seemingly been decommissioned, and there have been no sightings of it in recent years.

National Police Minis

Minis have been a big part of the Australian police fleet, and they are particularly popular among QLD and NSW police.

In 1964, Queensland Police purchased 10 Morris Minis to patrol the Hamilton and Banyo districts.

NSW Police, on the other hand, got the hot hatch Mini Cooper S. This zippy little car was the first Highway Patrol car to be used for speed enforcement from 1966 until 1971.

It was brought in to replace the solo speed enforcement motorcycles and was also one of the first cars used as an ‘unmarked vehicle’ with plain-clothed officers.

The Cooper S is now the most desirable of the classic Mini line-up, as it features the 1.3-litre S-spec engine and upgraded suspension.

To make the car even more special, the Cooper S was further tuned from the factory with an upgraded camshaft, twin carburettors, cylinder head modifications and more. Approximately 113 were sold to the public as a Police Pack after the NSW Police Department over-ordered on the vehicle.

The Police Pack Mini Cooper S is the most desirable Mini for collectors. An all-original one is on display at the NSW Police Academy.

NSW Police briefly returned to the Cooper S in 2003 with its supercharged engine and again in 2017 with a Mini Clubman for the Newtown area.

Western Australian Mini fire engines

A few volunteer bush fire brigades in Western Australia have miniature fire engines built on golf cart platforms.

The earliest one we could find was a little engine used by the Singleton Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade. The little truck, endearingly called ‘Squirt’, was fitted with everything from a two-way radio to a bush fire rake, a working hose reel with a water tank, and even had real lights and sirens.

The Bedfordale Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade still uses Squirt for community outreach programs, but it’s not the only little tanker getting around Western Australia.

Wanneroo Fire Support Brigade also added a mini tanker to its fleet in 2021 to educate the public and for community outreach purposes.

The pint-sized emergency service vehicle has a home with the Two Rock Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.

The post ‘A Smart car?’: Australia’s tiniest emergency service vehicles appeared first on Drive.