"It was this help that made the purchase possible, which will provide a safer and more reliable response for our personnel and our patients," said EMS Supervisor Ray Mason.

The unit is a 2017 Osage type I Ambulance on a Dodge Ram 4500 chassis and is equipped with several newly required features such as provider restraint systems and more secure stretcher docking systems.

The new station will replace an older station that had been slated for replacement in a few years. Harris County Emergency Services District No. 7, which funds the department, had to speed up the project after mold was discovered there, said Assistant Fire Chief Robert Logan. The new $7.6 million fire station will be complete by October.

The Mt. Carmel station is expected to reduce response times in the area.


"Station 14 on Hampton-Locust Grove Road, it's going to cut their territory in half," Fire Capt. Michael Black said. "It's going to cut down response time for the major shopping districts and relieve pressure from Hampton Station 5 and Station 1 (in McDonough)."


Henry County officials celebrated the official opening of the fire station with a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday afternoon. Fire Department personnel and their families, along with county staff and commissioners, were in attendance.

The UTV will be used to enter areas where a rescue truck cannot go when a medical emergency arises.

Fire officials said a patient could be transported safely on the vehicle with a stokes basket and backboard, and a seat adjacent to the basket allows an EMT to apply medical care while traveling to an ambulance.

That original crash happened after a vehicle slammed into the median’s cable barrier, Holt said. The engine responded to protect the ambulance and the crash scene, straddling the fog line and the fast lane. About 15 minutes after arriving, a pickup driven by 79-year-old Donald Howard of Portland, crashed into the back of the fire truck.