An out-of-service Warren (MI) ambulance that saw years of heavy use is heading to rural West Virginia, reports candgnews.com.
The apparatus will be refitted and put back into service by volunteer firefighters and paramedics in the town of Cairo, the report says. The alternative, officials say, was simply scrapping the ambulance; officials say that would have netted between $4,000 and $7,000.
According to the report, the MI and WV connection was forged when visitors in Cairo met with volunteer firefighters during an emergency response.
Cairo fire officials say the department’s 20 volunteers serve a population of 382 in the city and about 2,500 in the area; it’s dispatched to about 200 runs a year over an area of 50 square miles, 85% of which require EMS, the report says.
The department’s fleet consists of five vehicles: a 30-year-old main engine, a tanker, a medical rescue pickup truck, a brush truck, and a reserve tanker.
Officials say the last time Cairo had an ambulance was 40 years ago. The department has an annual budget of about $30,000, the report says, and holds raffles and dinners and even started a GoFundMe page two years ago.
The Type III ambulance would have cost about $190,000 new before it was fitted with equipment, the report says.
