WEST, Texas — While the West Volunteer Fire Department was received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations in the aftermath of the deadly April 17 plant explosion, West Emergency Medical Services hasn’t been so lucky.
KWTX reported many donors assumed the two departments were actually one and has hurt the EMS in its effort to recover from the effects of the blast.
The EMS headquarters is two blocks from the blast site and the entire complex was damaged, including two ambulances, according to the report. The insurance will help replace the building, but the ambulances and contents inside the building were under-insured, according to the report.
“The national media when they first came in portrayed us as being part of the West Fire Department,” Marek said. “West ambulance has kind of been left out because of it. And you can see what we got left, just an empty slab, an empty slab,” he said.
Less than $100,000 has been given to West EMS, which needs nearly $300,000 to replace equipment, training materials and the radio system, Marek said.
“We don’t want much, we want what we had prior to the blast. West EMS is a privately run non-profit and depends on donations and collections from ambulance runs.”
Marek said the medical service is crucial and must fully recover, according to the report.
“Without it these people are in trouble, they can’t even get to the hospital,” he said.