"We are still on track to open the truck," Manatee County Public Safety Director Bob Smith said Wednesday.

County commissioners authorized the execution of the shared facilities agreement this week with the Parrish Fire District. The agreement, which still needs to be approved by the Parrish Fire District Commission, will allow EMS to share space within the fire department.

Parrish Fire Department Chief Michael Johnson said there is a lot of community support for the Parrish ambulance.

The new ambulance and related equipment cost $417,785, which is being paid by public safety impact fees. The personnel and operating expenses for the ambulance this year will cost approximately $263,000, which will be paid for by the ambulance charges. For the following full year, it will cost $526,030.

The fire commission is set to take action on the agreement during its April 26 meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. at the fire district, 12132 U.S. 301 North, Parrish.

The station replaces a nearly 70-year-old station on Old Washington Road that the community has long outgrown, said Julianna Casey, president of the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department.

A county study recommended a new site for the Elkridge fire station more than a decade ago. The state also awarded a $500,000 grant to complete the facility.

The county has also asked the volunteer fire department to raise $2.4 million to help finance the project, said Casey.

Evergreen Fire Chief Craig Williams said the truck and fire personnel were responding to another crash between a Honda Element and Subaru in which no one was injured but there was substantial damage. "While we were setting up traffic control and protecting the scene, our engine was struck," he said. Williams was glad the damage to the truck seemed to be contained to the back bumper. He said it was lucky that no fire personnel were working out of the back of the truck at the time of the crash. No one was hurt in the second crash. The fire truck is temporarily out of service.

Williams wanted to take the opportunity to remind people that while it is tempting to pay attention to the ruckus caused by accidents, it is more important to pay attention to cones, slow down and watch out for emergency personnel at the scene of a crash.

"It is pretty much a classic example of people not paying attention," Williams said. "Be observant of accident scenes."

Timnath, PFA and the Poudre Valley Fire Protection District have an agreement to split the costs of the new station.

Station No. 8 is being built by Brinkman Construction Inc. at 4800 Signal Tree Drive, near the southeast corner of Harmony Road and Larimer County Road 5. Until construction is complete, PFA is temporarily staffing a modular trailer behind Timnath's old fire station at 4101 Main St.

By being in Timnath, PFA is expected to more than halve response times to calls in the area.