By Ron Clayton
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Copyright 2006 Chattanooga Publishing Company
ATHENS, Tenn. — An agreement reached between the McMinn County Commission and Riceville Fire Department will allow placement of a third ambulance station in the county and result in quicker emergency medical response, officials said.
Bids will be sought next month on renovating a section of the fire station building for the McMinn County Ambulance Station. Currently there are stations in North Athens and Etowah.
McMinn County Mayor John Gentry said the third station will mean quicker response by the county-owned service to areas in the south end of the county and southern portions of Athens.
“Riceville is a great strategic location,” Mr. Gentry said. The agreement calls for a 120-month lease at a price of $300 per month. The county will fund all improvements and construction costs for the ambulance section of the station, and McMinn keeps a right to sublease its portion of the building if another operator takes over the service.
Riceville Fire Chief Jim Ross said the city’s new building had an extra bay put on with the new ambulance station in mind. It can be closed off with separate gas and electrical service and parking areas can be provided, he said.
The ambulance service is managed by Woods Memorial Hospital, which hires personnel and furnishes supplies. The county gets 18 percent of the service’s income and furnishes all vehicles, housing and primary equipment, Mr. Gentry said.
He said the county may build new stations to replace the aging ambulance stations in Athens and Etowah.
Woods Hospital spokesman David Hill said the hospital’s lease contract with the county is up late next year, and renewal of the contract depends on what happens with ownership of the hospital.
The McMinn County Commission has told the hospital board it prefers the facility be sold.
Mr. Gentry said if a new hospital owner does not want to operate the ambulance service, the county would likely seek contract bids or could lease the facilities. “We could go in-house and make it a county service, or we could bid it out,” Mr. Gentry said.
Currently Med-Trans service operates in the city as a backup and transport service, said spokesman Mike Frost.
Med-Trans also operates services in Polk and Cherokee counties.
“The county establishing the new station in a triangular motion is excellent,” Mr. Frost said about providing faster medical response through the county-owned system.
Mr. Gentry said the county 911 board is considering building an alternative dispatch location in Etowah as a safety backup and that building could be designed to house an ambulance station.
He said the county is seeking to improve and expand the present service and the Riceville Station is a first step toward that goal.