Medina says towns will help fund ambulance

File photo by Tom Rivers – An ambulance for the Medina Fire Department heads down East Center Street in January 2015 for a call that was outside the village.

MEDINA – Village officials say they are close to a contract agreement with the towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates where the towns will pay towards an ambulance service.

The Medina Fire Department replaced Rural Metro as primary ambulance provider for western Orleans County in 2007. The Fire Department responds to nearly 3,000 calls a year with many outside the village.

Medina Village Board members have tried to get the towns to contribute to the service, without success in recent years. But Deputy Mayor Owen Toale and Fire Chief Tom Lupo said there is an agreement in principle where the three towns will pay towards the ambulance service.

Lupo said Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates will pay each year based on call volume in their community. The money will be used to help replace ambulances.

Lupo said he would like the Fire Department to get in a schedule of replacing ambulances with a new one every two years. The ambulances costs about $125,000 to $140,000.

Toale declined to say how much the towns are expected to contribute annually.

“It’s very positive for the village,” he said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.

Lupo also shared other good news for the Fire Department. Medina was awarded a $64,000 state grant for a heavy-duty vehicle and trailer that can be used to respond to recreational areas where fire trucks are too big.

The vehicle and trailer will be outfitted with ropes and rescue equipment for incidents at Glenwood Lake, the Erie Canal, Oak Orchard Creek and other spots with rough terrain.