Midland (TX) county commissioners approved the purchase of three ambulances and a fire truck for the city.
The purchase, totaling $1.1 million, was made using reserve funds from the sale of the old Midland County Courthouse, which is half of the $2.2 million the city paid in cash for the vacated building.
“This is probably the first time we’ve done something of this magnitude,” said Robin Donnelly, of Precinct 2, at the Commissioners’ Court meeting. “It’s one of those things that don’t happen very often. Usually, it is a behind-the-scenes type of deal.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Randy Prude said the Midland Fire Department needed these vehicles because of the city’s population growth.
MFD implemented a replacement plan that called for replacing one fire engine and one ambulance per year, said Fire Chief Robert Isbell. But because of the high cost of fire engines and the economic conditions in Midland throughout the years, the city had to strategically plan the vehicle replacements.
This caused some fire engines, which are meant to last 20 years, to serve into their 25th or even 30th year.
Of the nine total ambulance vehicles MFD has, six or seven are on the road at any time of the day. The three new ambulances are a “huge shot in the arm” to EMS, Isbell said.
And although MFD will continue to use dated fire engines because of the high cost to replace them, Isbell said the one new fire truck will make them “healthier than
they were” and will help a lot.
For more information, view www.mywesttexas.com
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