Those with a medical emergency in Warren County will soon be treated to faster response times and more thorough coverage thanks to a recent expansion. The Warren County Ambulance District has …
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New ambulance base means better coverage
Posted
By Derrick Forsythe, Record Staff Writer
Those with a medical emergency in Warren County will soon be treated to faster response times and more thorough coverage thanks to a recent expansion.The Warren County Ambulance District has completed the construction of a fourth base, located on Bell Road in Wright City, and hopes to station a crew there within the week.Assistant Administrator Tim Flake says opening a new ambulance base in the county was part of a five-year initiative that began to unfold after voters approved a 15-cent tax increase in 2014.“The first thing we did was put on an additional full-time crew, meaning we had four ambulances staffed 24-7,” said Flake.The second phase was to provide a fourth base in the county to help cover a call volume that has reached 4,200 calls per year.Previously, the district had two bases in Warrenton, located on opposite sides of the interstate along South Highway 47 and on Fairgrounds Road. Wright City, however, had just one base on Second Street, which was occasionally hindered by train traffic, leaving ambulances cut off from traveling north.“We wanted an ambulance on both sides of Interstate 70 and on both sides of the railroad,” said Flake. “With this base here we’ll be able to get to the Wildcat overpass quickly and we can go east or west either way. We don’t have to worry about a train.”The new base also is located across the road from Wright City Middle School and Early Childhood Center and within a few blocks of the high school and West Elementary.“We saw a lot of growth on this side of town and wanted to make sure we had enough resources for that,” said Flake. “Part of our plan was to build on the north side of Interstate 70 in Wright City and build it big enough for the future.”Another concern that existed was the scarcity of crews on the east side of the county.“One thing a lot of people didn’t think about is when the staff at Wright City went out, we had one of the crews from base one (in Warrenton) drive on down and back fill, because there’s nothing unusual about having two ambulance calls in the area at the same time,” said Administrator Ralph Hellebusch. “That will cut back now so we’ll have a more rapid response.”The Bell Road base is equipped to house multiple crews, a bay for two ambulances and a supervisor’s vehicle and individual sleeping quarters for five.It also features a community room that can serve as a training base or provide space to the residents for a variety of uses.“Now with the technology we have, we can keep our crews in their zones by having them interact through video trainings without actually having to bring them all to one location,” said Flake.Perhaps the biggest advantage of having a fourth base is that if residential expansion continues, the district will only have to supply the additional personnel but not property to meet the need, he said.“The nice thing now is that if we see a bump in call volume we can put additional crew on and not have to build a base,” said Flake. “We’ve got enough room to grow now that we can put on three more crews.”
Members of the Warren County Ambulance District stand in front of the district's new and forth ambulance base on Bell Road in Wright City. The district is planning to hold a open house this summer. Record photo/Derrick Forsythe.
