New Ambulance approved for County EMS

New Ambulance Purchase approved

The Board of Supervisors at its March 23 meeting agreed to appropriate $278,000 to purchase a new ambulance for the county’s emergency services.

Botetourt County Fire-EMS Chief Jason Ferguson made the request. In recent years, the county has had a regular program of replacing equipment at the rate of one vehicle per year, he said. However, due to concerns about the impact of Covid-19 upon the county budget, a request for funding for an ambulance last year was removed from the budget.

The county currently has nine ambulances in its system, spread out among five different staffed stations. Five of the ambulances have over 100,000 miles of them. One of those, a 2016 model, has 127,000 miles on it. The ambulances are all over five years old.

Ferguson said it was crucial to maintain the existing fleet numbers and continue the replacement plan. He noted that the average round trip for an ambulance taking a patient to a local hospital was at least 50 miles.

He also said the Fire-EMS department is currently working on grant funding for an additional ambulance to help step up the replacement program. The county would be asked for matching funds if the grant is obtained.

The supervisors unanimously approved the new ambulance purchase.

                                                                           — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee