By David Kronke
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — As Terre Haute Fire Department Chief Darrick Scott was thanking the city for providing the department with a new fourth ambulance on Wednesday, another city ambulance raced by Fire Station 9, its siren blaring.
Scott drolly noted that the EMS vehicle’s propitious timing underscored the need of the ambulance fleet.
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The fourth ambulance, which nonetheless goes by the name MEDIC 5, was introduced and placed into service Wednesday at Station 9, 561 W. Margaret Ave., after a news conference.
Mayor Brandon Sakbun noted that the city has had only three ambulances over the past 34 years, a 28% jump in run calls in the past five years.
Deputy Chief of EMS Operations for the Terre Haute Fire Department Diana Luther said, “This investment is not just in equipment — it’s an investment in our people. It means our paramedics and EMTs will have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively, without being overextended.”
She promised the citizens of Terre Haute, “When you or your loved ones face an emergency, our EMS professionals will be there — faster, stronger and better equipped than ever before.”
After the press conference, Luther said, “This has been a long time coming. Our run volume has continued to increase over the last 30 years, but most definitely in the last five years, with a 4,000-run increase over the last five years. We’ve had the same amount of ambulances for 30 years. This is a huge asset.”
She added, “It’s going to decrease the run volume between our crews, splitting it up from three crews to four crews. Some of our ambulances were running 15, 16 runs a day. Hopefully, this takes it down to a more manageable number.
Luther continued, “Some of these runs take roughly an hour at a time to complete, and if they’re doing 15 or 16 runs a day, they are exhausted. This hopefully will keep them sharper and be able to provide a great service to our community.”
The new ambulance cost approximately $400,000 and was paid for with funds collected from those who have used EMS services. It joins the other three ambulances, which are dispersed throughout the city.
“Originally, with MEDIC 7, 8 and 9, they were at the outskirts of town so that everybody would have to come in,” Luther said. “With MEDIC 5, we decided to bring it [to Station 9 on Margaret Avenue ] because it’s closer to 3rd Street or coming up on 63, but ideally it would be downtown, so it could disperse across [town].”
Though adding a fourth ambulance should have been done sooner, Luther is glad it has finally been accomplished.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to know that we are able to fund a fourth ambulance and help the community,” she said.
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