The ambulance — a 2015 Dodge Ram 5500 — replaces a 2007 GMC medium-duty truck that went out of service in May; it had about 101,000 miles on it.

The fire department looks into replacing ambulances every eight to 10 years, according to Capt. Norm Simpkins Jr. This is the first time the fire department has purchased a new ambulance since 2011, when a Medic 355 was added, he said.

The new safety features and functions that the new vehicle provides impressed Simpkins.

"It's good not only for the citizens that we serve but for our members who ride the piece of apparatus," he said.

Last year, the prior Medic 356 was starting to show signs of its age, said Matt Urick, a paramedic and firefighter for the department. Wear and tear was starting to show, and maintenance costs were adding up.

In July, the fire department announced the formation of a committee to find a replacement. Urick was tasked with leading it.

A plaque will recognize Tamlyn at the new station site, located along West Central Avenue and the corner of Lovingly Street.

“There’s a lot of politics in all of this, as there is in everything we do. But the bottom line is, it’s about what is the best thing for the citizens of the region. Not just in Emmet County, but in Cheboygan County, it reaches across the bridge and touches in Mackinac County. What is the best for our region? And we think we’ve got it,” Tamlyn said.

Emmet County officials said that the decision to name the facility was made administratively.

With the Mackinaw City facility now complete, the county-run ambulance service has two of its three planned stations in operation.

The first building was opened on M-119 near Harbor Springs. The Mackinaw City station has the capacity to hold three ambulance vehicles and four sleeping quarters for crews to rest during their 24-hour shifts.

It was also completed within its $1.3 million budget, with a cost of a little less than $1.2 million.

A new fire engine now graces one of the bays at the Corning Volunteer Fire Department, and soon a new 911 dispatch center will help the department better serve the city's residents.

On Friday, Shane Weissman of Shane's Autographics was at the department placing decals on the new-to-the-department fire engine that was purchased with volunteer firefighters budget funds.

The new fire engine replaces the department's old 1978 city-owned engine that was failing and had an excess number of miles on it.

Spannaus said the new engine still has a lot of good years on it and will be used to respond to city emergency calls and for out-of-city strike team assignments.

The engine joins the department's fleet of one ladder truck, one rescue squad, three fire engines, and one brush engine used to fight wildfires.

"The volunteer firefighters are excited about the purchase," Spannaus said. "As they are about the upcoming new dispatch upgrade. Their enthusiasm has been rekindled with the city voters' approval of Measure A. We are all very appr ciative of the passage of that measure and of the voters' support of the department."