New ambulance station will save time, maybe lives
The city of McMinnville deserves significant praise for allowing the county ambulance department to house emergency service workers at the recently completed fire substation.
With the city footing the bill for the new fire station ? which came to over $290,000 ? officials were gracious enough to allow emergency services to rent space in the facility for the nominal fee of $1 per year.
By charging a mere $1 in rent, it?s obvious the city has no intentions of making its money back by billing the county. Rather, city officials are looking out for the well-being of all Warren countians and trying to do the best they can to provide emergency medical services as quickly as possible.
The fire substation, located on the north side of McMinnville, has been a long overdue project.
Officially called Fire Station 2, its operation means greatly reduced response times for nearby residents. In case of a fire, those residents won?t have to wait some 10 minutes before a firetruck arrives because one is now right next door. That?s important because when you?re dealing with fires, every second and every minute counts.
The same can be said for medical emergencies. When a heart attack is involved, every second really does matter. It can mean the difference between life and death. Having an ambulance and trained professionals just a heartbeat away makes great strides in increasing the survival rate when an emergency strikes.
What?s important to note is the city and county have often argued about which government should be responsible for funding which services. It?s been a long-standing contention, for example, that county government has not done its fair share when it comes to funding local parks and recreation projects.
Another example is the county sheriff?s department and city police department, which recently quarreled about paying for a $50,000 fingerprint machine required by the TBI.
The city and county have fought over who is responsible for the upkeep of certain roads, including Magness Drive, which is where the ambulance service?s main branch is located.
These are just a few examples of the recurring tug of war between city and county governments. There have been many more instances and there are sure to be more to come.
That?s why it?s so refreshing the city would simply donate space in Fire Station 2 for a county service to use. The overwhelming benefits of this move far outweigh any differences McMinnville and Warren County officials may have.
The ultimate goal is to provide Warren County residents with the fastest, and best, medical attention possible. Having more ambulance service locations around the county is one way to accomplish this goal.
We applaud city and county officials for taking the appropriate steps to make this move a reality. A move which could have required quarreling and red tape was pulled off without a hitch.