Ambulance Service Continued
Since July 28, 2002 our ambulance service has grown. In 2004, a second ambulance was purchased and placed into service to meet the ever increasing demands on our service. The second ambulance was purchased used at a significant cost savings to the department. This unit is a 1993 Ford/Horton ambulance and is equipped with the same equipment as the 2002 Ambulance. The decision to purchase a second ambulance was made because of the numerous emergency transports from the State Correctional Institution for Women, which is located within Clinton Twp. Many of these inmates required transport to hospitals that were not close to our coverage area and this resulted in our ambulance not being available for an emergency to a resident of the Township. We used funds generated by the inmate transports to purchase and equip the second ambulance. This second ambulance is primarily used for any inmate emergencies but it has been used several times to respond to vehicle accidents with multiple injuries or to respond to a second emergency when the first ambulance is already committed to an incident.
In 2006, the representatives from the healthcare agency that provides services to the Prison approached us about their need for non-emergency transports of inmates who were wheelchair bound. The Prison was experiencing scheduling difficulties with the service that they were using. The Fire Co. explored the issue and decided that the purchase of a wheelchair van would be beneficial to both parties involved. A used Dodge wheelchair van was purchased from a dealer who had purchased the vehicle at a Pennsylvania surplus auction. This vehicle was previously used at a State owned medical institution and had very few miles on it. This vehicle was also purchased by the Fire Co. with the proceeds from providing inmate transports. This vehicle is also used as a support vehicle to the Fire Company. It can be used to pull our boats or the special response trailer. It is also used during times of bad weather to move equipment and man-power. We also offer this service to any resident of the Townships that we serve to provide them with wheelchair van transport to and from appointments. We have provided well over 100 transports to community residents since the van was purchased
We believe that our ambulance service is one of the best in the area. We average over five hundred (500) calls per year since 2002 and our ambulances have an average response time of six (6) minutes from the time we receive a dispatch.
