It’s been a quarter-century since the Three Mile Fire District decided it needed to own its ambulance to service the community on the east of the valley between Florence and Stevensville.

Today, the district owns and operates two ambulances, including a brand-new vehicle purchased just last year.

Like other Ravalli County ambulances, the Three Mile District also took advantage of an American Heart Association Mission:Lifeline Montana grant to acquire an EKG machine capable of transmitting real time heart monitoring information to local hospitals.

The grant was made possible by a $4.5 million gift from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

In September, the equipment helped save the life of a local man who requested the ambulance after feeling chest pain when he finished a ride on his exercise bike.

The donation of the 1989 E-One fire engine is the fourth of its kind made to a city in Mexico, according to Mark Weber, the city's economic development manager. In 1995 and 2010, the city donated engines to Empalme and in the early 1980s, an engine was donated to Ejido Hermosillo.

Mayor Pro Tem Emmanuel Martinez said the donation symbolizes Coachella's interest in the health and welfare of the Mexican people after the two cities established as "sister city" relationship last year.

The firefighter medics and the patient in the ambulance were taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries related to the crash. All were released.

The driver of the truck was not injured.

Police say the ambulance was traveling north in the left lane on Warwick Boulevard in the area of Mercury Boulevard. The ambulance had no emergency equipment activated.

The International truck merged onto Warwick Boulevard from Mercury Boulevard and tried to turn in front of the ambulance.

The driver of the ambulance tried to avoid the crash, but the truck continued to come into the ambulance’s lane, causing the crash.

The ambulance veered into the median, where it stopped.