This year, St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) will respond to approximately 50,000 calls for service – a number that has grown by nearly 50 percent over the last decade and continues to climb. Rapid residential and commercial development, coupled with an aging population, have been the driving factors behind the upward trajectory. This week, the District debuted a reconfiguration of emergency assets that are projected to positively impact response times in one of the county’s busiest areas.

Advanced life support ambulances are now positioned at new stations located at 1755 Woodstone Dr. in St. Peters and 3801 Towers Rd. in Harvester. Previously, this expansive area was served by a single ambulance operating from a station along Old Hwy. 94. The move brings SCCAD’s total number of stations staffed around the clock to 17.

“When performing our community needs analysis, this area was and continues to be a high priority,” said SCCAD Chief Kelly Cope. “The Woodstone and Towers stations, coupled with support from existing facilities, will enable us to enhance coverage and provide better response times to 911 emergencies.”

The unit housed at the Woodstone station will primarily serve the Rt. 364 corridor between Heritage Pkwy. and Mid Rivers Mall Drive, while the Towers station will respond to calls in the densely populated residential areas of Harvester.

Total project cost on the two facilities was approximately $5.85 million. Originally slated to open earlier this fall, supply chain issues related to several critical pieces of equipment necessitated a slight shift in the stations’ opening.

“Like many construction projects throughout the region, we encountered delays on a handful of required items. We’re grateful to our general contractor (LCS, LLC.), architect (Archimages) and project management firm (Navigate Building Consultants) that aided in helping navigate the interruptions and minimize impact to the overall project timeline,” said Cope.

The new stations were included in SCCAD’s 10-Year Capital Improvement Plan [CIP], which was published in 2018. General obligation bonds authorized by voters in August of that year provided financing for the facilities. Also included in the CIP was the District’s unified headquarters facility which opened in 2021, replacement of ambulances and lifesaving equipment, and several forthcoming EMS stations.

Watertown’s Finance Committee needed less than 10 minutes Tuesday night to review and ultimately support the acquisition of land for a new and much larger fire station, WDTimes.com reported.

Then Watertown Common Council members took action on the finance committee’s recommendation and agreed on the $225,000 purchase of 7.6 acres or 331,476 square feet of land near 621 Bernard and 668 Johnson streets (in the middle of the city), the report said.

In the spring the city enlisted the help of Five Bugles Design, which has assisted in fire station designs across Wisconsin. It is unclear how much the new building would cost until the city hires an architect, engineer and construction team, the report said.

A nearly $2 million public safety investment by Lynchburg (VA) was celebrated Thursday as the Lynchburg Fire Department welcomed two new trucks into its fleet with a traditional “wet down” ceremony at Station 7, NewsAdvance.com reported.

Lynchburg’s new Tower 2 truck was hosed down Thursday by firefighters outside of Station 7 on Lakeside Drive, celebrating the additions of the new tower truck and a new medic truck — Medic 8, the report said.

The Honey Creek Fire Department has replaced two old trucks with a new $641,000 engine and a new $411,600 tanker, TribStar.com reported.

The new engine carries its own water and has a pump and hose. Its main purpose is to put out fires and also take equipment to the scene. The new tanker carries 2,000 gallons of water and will be used in rural areas.

The older trucks these are replacing will still be used. One will go to a fire station that’s not as busy, and the other will be used for training.

Both new vehicles are painted in the department’s signature florescent green color, with a blue and white stripe for better visibility, the report said.

The tanker arrived in October and the engine/pumper arrived in November, but had to be outfitted and have equipment mounted, then have three shifts of firefighters trained, the report said.

The vehicles were manufactured by Spartan Emergency Response, a subsidiary of REV Group.