Fire Chief Steve Iovinelli was looking for a budget-friendly option and reached out to Foster Coach, a company based in Sterling, Illinois. They had just the thing — an ambulance that had been used as a set piece for the show.

"It was sitting on a set in California," Iovinelli recalled. "They never actually used it for real calls."

The show, which ran for only 18 episodes before being canceled in April 2010, was criticized for its over-the-top action sequences and unconvincing characters. One reviewer from USA Today described it as "loud, flashy, and full of whiny EMTs." Despite this, the ambulance offered a great deal.

The village paid $90,177 for the 2008 ambulance, which had only 10,000 miles on the clock — most of them highway miles from California. A brand-new ambulance would have cost between $130,000 and $140,000.

"It still smells new when you get inside," Iovinelli said. "It’s never been on a real call. It's like a showroom model."

NBC had built a full-scale replica of the ambulance for filming, rather than using a real one. This meant the vehicle was never exposed to the rigors of emergency response.

While the fire chief joked about the possibility of paramedics getting stopped for autographs, he’s also trying to find a poster from the show to hang in the station. Lt. Dan Fidonik, a firefighter and paramedic, admitted he only watched part of an episode and quickly turned it off.

"It was a terrible show," he said. "But honestly, if it starts, runs, and stops, I’m happy with it. After 23 years, an ambulance is an ambulance."