April 9, 2010

Department begins ambulance service

      As of 7 a.m. this morning, the White River Township Fire Department began providing its own ambulance transportation for the first time in the department’s fifty-eight year history. Up until that point, the department has contracted with a private company to provide the service. Through a federal grant and years of planning, the department was able to begin the service with the intent to become a full-service emergency services provider for the district.

         Rural/Metro Ambulance Service, who was previously contracted to provide ambulance transportation, will move its ambulance that was stationed in White River Township to Greenwood Fire Department Station 92 on Fry Road. This move will allow Rural/Metro to be close-by in the event that the fire department ambulance is out of service on another call. The department will continue to work with Rural/Metro within a mutual-aid agreement. Rural/Metro will provide back-up service and vice-versa in order to provide the best coverage possible for the citizens of the area.

         The service begins today with one ambulance that will be staffed with one paramedic and one emergency medical technician. Within the next few months a second ambulance will be staffed once the department completes a hiring process for the new personnel. The two ambulances will be stationed at Station 52 and Station 53, respectively. Although the department begins today with an ambulance that is on loan from the manufacturer, the department has recently taken delivery of two ambulances from Wheeled Coach that are currently being outfitted for use with the department. As soon as the units are ready, they will go in service and the loaner vehicle will be returned.  See a related story HERE and HERE.
 

           
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