News out of the County this afternoon that a new ambulance will soon be in service for residents of the Eastern side of county for Station 6 on Riverside Pkwy. Here’s the word from the county in the press release:
****DOUGLAS COUNTY ADDS AMBULANCE EQUIPMENT AND CREW AT FIRE STATION NO. 6****
The 2016 Douglas County budget included the addition of a 7th ambulance and crew to serve County residents, and that ambulance and crew are now in service out of Fire Station No. 6, Riverside Parkway. The ambulance is staffed with a Paramedic and Emergency Medical Technician at all times.
Engine 6 at Fire Station No. 6 was previously outfitted with Advanced Life Support (ALS) equipment, making it functional as a first-responding medical unit, but the ALS equipment has now been transferred to the ambulance/rescue unit. Engine 6 had three personnel assigned to it, one of which will now transfer to the ambulance to be joined by an additional staff person.
A new ambulance/rescue unit has been ordered and should arrive and be in service in late February. At the present time, a reserve/backup unit is being used, which will return to reserve status when the new vehicle arrives. The Fire/EMS Department is in the hiring process for the three new personnel who will serve on the three 24-hour shifts on the ambulance, known as Rescue 6. At present, the ambulance is being staffed with qualified part-time and overtime staff.
Douglas County Chairman Tom Worthan requested the establishment of the 7th ambulance and crew in the 2016 budget to reduce and relieve the strain on the other ambulance/rescue units in the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department, and to meet the growing needs of County residents. The addition of this equipment and crew has rescue units at 7 of the 10 Douglas County Fire Stations, and the remaining 3 all have ALS units on other equipment. Douglas County Fire/EMS also has mutual aid agreements with surrounding counties for back-up, as well as with private ambulance companies when there is an unusually high demand for units.
Thanks as always to Wes Tallon for the info.
