Orleans County accepts ambulance donated from Niagara County

Provided photo: Pictured from left include Orleans County Legislators John Fitzak and Skip Draper; Niagara County EMS Director Jonathan Schultz; Orleans County EMO Deputy Director Scott Buffin; Orleans County EMO Director Justin Niederhofer; Niagara County Legislature Chairman Becky Wydysh; Niagara County Legislators Randy Bradt and David Godfrey; and Niagara County EMS Manager Tom Eggert.

Press Release, Orleans County Legislature

LOCKPORT – The Niagara County Legislature on Tuesday passed on a resolution authorizing the county to enter into an inter-municipal agreement to transfer a surplus ambulance to Orleans County.

The 2010 Ford EC4 Road Rescue vehicle was used by Niagara County when its ambulance service launched last year until its current ambulance fleet arrived earlier this year.  Orleans County is in the process of launching its own staffed ambulance service in 2025 and this ambulance will be put into service immediately with a Basic Life Support (BLS) function to supplement current ambulance service in the county.

Orleans County Legislator John Fitzak attended the Niagara County Legislature meeting with Legislator Skip Draper, Emergency Management Director Justin Niederhofer and Deputy Director Scott Buffin.

“Orleans and Niagara County have a great history of working together and we very much appreciate Niagara County helping our efforts to support of volunteer ambulance services,” Fitzak said. “Communities across New York State all face the dual problems of a declining number of volunteer firefighters coupled with more regulatory demands on those same volunteers. This results in longer response times for citizens who need help. Today is a step forward for Orleans County in addressing these issues, with much more to be done in the coming months.”

“This is another great example of collaboration and shared services between Niagara and Orleans counties to better meet the needs of our residents,” said Niagara County Legislature David Godfrey, co-chair of the Niagara Orleans Regional Alliance. “Because we have mutual aid in place between the counties for emergency response, not only are we helping our friends in Orleans County with the transfer of this ambulance, we are increasing capacity in the region that could help our eastern Niagara towns in time of need.”

Editor’s Note:

The ambulance from Niagara County will not be put into service this year, said Justin Niederhofer, the EMO director for Orleans County. The unit doesn’t have any equipment. The County Emergency Management Office is seeking a grant to put in equipment and will be working to set up relationships with Medicare and Medicaid for billing.

Niederhofer said no new staff is expected to work on the ambulance this year or in 2025.

The current EMO staff will staff the ambulance for some backup calls when other providers are busy or for calls when a standby ambulance is needed at an emergency scene, such as a fire.

Niederhofer and Audra Fisher, EMO secretary, are both emergency medical technicians, and Scott Buffin, the EMO deputy director, is a paramedic.