Wantage may have to wait for new ambulance
Wantage. Business Administrator Michael Restel said the Wantage Township First Aid Squad may have to wait up to 700 days for a new ambulance, as there is a backup on parts.
Wantage /
| 24 Oct 2022 | 01:31
It could be up to two years before the Wantage Township First Aid Squad is able take possession of a new ambulance.
The First Aid Squad initially come before ethe Township Committee in August with an estimate that a new ambulance would cost about $200,000 and $300,000.
Bill DeBoer, president of the Wantage First Aid Squad, said the organization’s newest ambulance is 12 years old, and it has an even older ambulance that the squad was supposed to get rid of when it received the new ambulance 12 years ago. Unable to get anything for the ambulance, he decided to keep it.
He said on Oct. 13 that the First Aid Squad looked at three ambulances, but narrowed it down to a Type 3, which is a two-wheel drive vehicle with a van front. The back compartment is permanently attached to the van front.
DeBoer said the Type 3 is most like the ambulance the squad is looking to replace. He also said it runs on gasoline and not diesel, which isn’t as expensive.
“From what I understand, they run just as good as the diesels,” DeBoer said. “The problem is right now is it’s going to take quite a bit of time to get it.”
DeBoer said he had heard that the Ford Motor Co. has about 40,000 trucks waiting for computer chips, and it could be a year before the township receives the ambulance. However, Business Administrator Michael Restel said he heard 700 days.
Chief Financial Officer Ashley Wilson reminded the Committee that if they planned to use any American Rescue Plan money to purchase the new ambulance, they would have to follow federal purchasing guidelines.
