The Easton Volunteer Emergency Medical Service team is ready to part ways with one of their oldest ambulances and welcome a new one to serve the community.
The new ambulance has improved seat belts and restraint systems for emergency medical technicians in the back of the ambulance. It has full LED lighting inside and out, which decreases the draw on the electrical system and lessens the need or frequency to replace costly light bulbs.
“Having this ambulance will allow EMS to continue to cover EMS calls when one of our two ambulances goes out for routine maintenance. It also allows us to cover two calls at the same time and cover incidents with multiple patients, such as car accidents, house fires, CO poisonings, etc. It also allows us to effectively cover large standby events such as the town carnival, EMS fireworks, Silverman’s Farm and the Halloween bonfire”, said EMS Chief Jon Arnold.
Arnold said the old ambulance has served the community well but it was time to find a replacement ambulance.
“To give you a little insight, the old ambulance was a 2009 Ford, it had 88,000 miles on it and through our record keeping we found it responded to and handled over 3,500 emergency calls in its lifetime” said Arnold.
The department saved up over the course of three budget cycles and was able to purchase the ambulance for $180,000.00. The department anticipates that it will return $12,000 to the general fund as they are in the process of selling the 2009 ambulance to a company in Maryland.
Arnold and his EMT colleagues Josh Meszaros, Asst. Chief Stephen Brunetti and Asst. Chief Adam Goldstein, as well as the town boards of selectmen and finance, made the project possible, Arnold said.
“Our volunteers work hard and strive to provide the most compassionate care possible. For our EMS Commissioners, the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen to have the faith in us to provide the best possible equipment to treat residents and visitors alike is truly a blessing” said Arnold.
