Staff photo / Dan Pompili Boardman firefighter / EMT Ryan Phillips and firefighter / paramedic Greg Bradac, check the equipment in the department’s first ambulance unit, Medic 71.

BOARDMAN — The new year brings new resources for township residents.

The Boardman Fire Department made history on Monday when it put its new ambulance into service to provide better emergency medical coverage for the community.

Boardman contracts with Lane LifeTrans to keep two ambulances running full-time in the township. Fire Chief Mark Pitzer said the new unit, Medic 71, will supplement the service Boardman receives from Lane.

It is the first time the township has ever operated an ambulance.

“The challenge for Lane is they service multiple communities, and with limited units they’re constantly shuffling around,” Pitzer said. “So, for example, if Austintown gets busy, they may pull one of ours. So, if we’re short a unit or we have multiple medical calls and we have a long delay with one coming from Austintown, Girard or Niles, this is a way we can help improve the response times in our community.”

Pitzer said the department bought the used ambulance from KLG last year for about $30,000 when that company went out of business. With mechanical repairs, new graphics, and upgraded equipment, the ambulance cost the township between $60,000 and $70,000.

“This wasn’t budgeted, and we had to move some things around financially,” Pitzer said. “But delivery on a new ambulance is about two years, so to be able to get up and running now, we had to purchase one used.”

He said a comparable ambulance bought brand new would cost $180,000 to $200,000.

Pitzer said the department has reworked schedules to move some staff from fire apparatus to ambulance duty, rather than adding additional shifts.

“We have a number of paramedics and EMTs that work for us,” he said. “This past fall, we had to replace four people, so we hired EMTs and paramedics to fill those spots, and we have a few people in school right now.”

Pitzer said the township is just like any other community in the country, facing a shortage of EMTs and paramedics.

“With our call volume increasing as our population ages, if you couple that with a lack of EMTs, it’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “So, this is not just about putting an ambulance in service, it’s a very elaborate process.”

Pitzer said the personnel working the ambulance will still be available for fire calls. If those people are called to a fire, Lane will remain the township’s ambulance provider while they are on the call. If Lane is unavailable, he said, the ambulance staff will remain on the ambulance and the department will call for mutual aid from other fire departments.

The new ambulance will operate out of Station 71, the department’s main station on Market Street, across from Southern Park Mall.