The 1994 Type 3 ambulance is equipped with lights and a siren and has the capacity to transport three patients lying down.

“The entire EMS program will benefit from this ambulance,” said Kasey Himes, an emergency services management faculty at KCC. “Our students can now get invaluable real-world experience before they enter the workforce.”

According to Bonnie Overcash, vice president of BVAS, many of the two dozen volunteers who make up BVAS have taken courses at KCC. She said the volunteers decided together that donating the ambulance to KCC is its best use in the community.

While it’s still unclear seven months later if a taxing 48-hour shift contributed to the sudden heart attack death of firefighter and paramedic Richard Garner, the fire department is looking at whether its wellness programs, fitness testing policies and shift scheduling could better prevent job-related health problems or deaths. The department’s self-examination also comes as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, plans to probe Garner’s death to see if there could be a link between its circumstances and several other similar firefighter deaths. Firefighters in Madison typically work 24-hour shifts, but are allowed to work longer to fill in for a colleague