Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary will soon have an ALS non-transport vehicle.
Clary previously told the Starke County Commissioners that he acquired a vehicle from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office to use as a department vehicle. He thought it could be transformed into an ALS non-transport vehicle to be used in case all other ambulances are busy. He could equip the vehicle with a cardiac monitor and necessary medications in order to respond to the scene and be of assistance right away until an ambulance can arrive on scene.
On Monday night, Clary said he submitted an application with the state in order to use the vehicle as an ALS non-transport vehicle which was subsequently approved. He added that he recently received the certification numbers for the vehicle.
(060618 clary…11 sec) “Once I have the vehicle painted and decaled, I need to place the equipment in the vehicle,” said Clary. “I will contact our state representative, Mike Fort, and he’ll come in and inspect it to make sure I have all of the appropriate equipment on there and we can place it in service.”
He hopes that the decals and paint can be done prior to the commissioner’s next meeting on June 18.
The car needs to be repainted as it’s a former squad car from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and a two-tone paint scheme is not lawful for use outside of a law enforcement capacity. He received three quotes and the commissioner approved the lowest quote from Patrick’s Auto Group at just over $2,000. That price includes repair to the front and rear bumpers, the replacement of a taillight and paint. Clary said the car will need to be decaled and he’s found prices to do that of about $200.
The commissioners will pay for the work to be done out of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund.
Clary noted that his vehicle will be an invaluable addition to the EMS Department.
(060618 clary 2…11 sec) “It will be a great addition to our community. We just had another incident today where all of the trucks were out and a possible heart attack call came in here in town. I could go there, but I didn’t have much equipment. Again, this is a great opportunity.”
