By EMS1 Staff
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A fire department was able to purchase its first ambulance in over 50 years.
NBC 29 reported that the Charlottesville Fire Department used leftover money they had after purchasing a new ladder truck to buy a new ambulance, the first one the department has had since the 1950s.
The department currently uses ambulances from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, but they need more ambulances now that they have a 24-hour medic squad.
“The fire department will be running a 24-hour peak activity medic unit out of the Ridge Street Fire Station and, starting in January, a 24-hour medic unit staffed with Charlottesville firefighters,” CFD Chief Andrew Baxter said. “In that process, we have determined that we’re stressing the CARS fleet by a significant amount.”
Chief Baxter plans to purchase several more ambulances over the next few years.