The $1.7 million Buchanan County Emergency Medical Services headquarters and ambulance dispatch center is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy by Jan. 15. The building is located across from Meierhoffer Funeral Home on the south side of Frederick Boulevard.
The Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) took out an eight-year loan to pay for the approximately 10,000-square-foot facility and is on track to pay the mortgage within five years, said Wallace Patrick, Buchanan County EMS executive director.
E.L. Crawford, the general contractor, is on track to complete the project in mid-January. This will be the ambulance service’s third facility when completed. One is located in midtown on South 10th Street near Olive Street, and the other is on the South Side at 824 W. Hyde Park.
Creal Clark and Seifert Architects and Engineers designed the building to make the ambulance service more efficient. There will be a ready bay with two ambulances set for dispatch in the new facility.
The emergency medical service is operating a fleet of 11 ambulances, including four REMSA recently bought.
The vehicle bays have been designed so the ambulances won’t have to have their engines running until they are dispatched, Patrick said. This will save on gasoline costs and engine wear and tear, he said.
The new dispatch center will have four dispatch consoles and a backup electrical generator.
Built into the facility will be a 12-foot-by-12-foot emergency room with a backup communications station. The room will meet Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements for a tornado shelter.
There also will be an automated dispensary system for medical supplies.