YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jamael Tito Brown announced Tuesday that the city’s ambulance company will put two more ambulances into service full time for Youngstown starting Friday to reduce the potential of not being able to respond to an emergency.

The move comes one day after the Youngstown Fire Department rescued a girl, 16, from a pond on Jacobs Road near McKelvey Lake but could not transport her by ambulance because none was available.

The girl had fallen through ice and was stuck in the water below at 9:52 a.m. She had fallen through the ice while running through the nearby wooded area. She was able to stand upright in the water, which was up to her waist.

“Unfortunately, the four ambulances that American Medical Response (AMR) had allocated to the city were all on other emergency calls in the city and were unable to respond in a timely manner,” a statement from the mayor’s office stated.

Firefighters used a private van to transport the girl to the hospital. She had started to show signs of hypothermia, but her injuries apparently were not serious, a fire department official told The Vindicator.

The mayor said AMR handled 15,000 to 17,000 calls for the city in 2019, which would suggest that four ambulances should have been sufficient.

The mayor noted that fire Chief Barry Finley is also working to “supplement” AMR service with emergency-medical service provided by personnel with the Youngstown Fire Department.

The mayor commended Lt. Tommy Gibbs, the firefighter who entered the icy waters to bring the teen to safety.

erunyan@tribtoday.com