A long-awaited delivery has rolled off the barge in Bethel. The city unloaded a new, gleaming ambulance on Tuesday.
The arrival marks the culmination of more than a year of fundraising. The city’s firefighters and EMTs sold everything from T-shirts to bratwurst to Bingo nights to pay for the vehicle. Donations and grants helped meet the $255,000 price tag to purchase and equip the rig.
Fire Chief Bill Howell says that the city is inspecting and registering the ambulance before outfitting it with medical equipment and City of Bethel stickers.
Only one piece of what’s been called the “Medic Six” project remains: grant funds to buy a new stretcher. Until then, EMTs will use a stretcher that the city already owns.
Bethel’s two current ambulances are 14 and 18 years old. The industry standard is to replace them every decade.
