New ambulance sought for Magrath
Currently, the service has only one ambulance as its main unit. The services 1980 Dodge high top, the back-up unit, lost its engine in May. Repairs for the old Dodge exceed the price of a better ambulance and the plan to purchase a new unit was proposed to town council in early September.
Ken Hoibak, coordinator of the ambulance service, says there is a need for a new unit.
"Currently, we only have the one unit," said Hoibak. "But realistically, we will need two units, one for on-call and one for a back-up, should something happen while the first unit is out on a call."
Hoibak said the new ambulance will be similar to the current unit and will become the main on-call unit while the Ford will become the back-up.
The cost will come in around $70,000, which will be financed over 10 years. About $10,000 of that amount is expected to come from ambulance revenue and the rest will be borrowed and paid off over the ten years by the town, the ambulance service and the Southern Region Emergency Services Society.
