By Frank Andruscavage
The Republican & Herald
BARNESVILLE, Pa. — The Ryan Township Emergency and Rescue Squad dedicated its new ambulance during ceremonies on Saturday.
The company recently took delivery of a 2013 Ford F-350 four-wheel-drive vehicle, purchased in part through a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Chief Darrell Harris said the vehicle, which took nearly a year to complete, was built by American Emergency Vehicles, AEV, in North Carolina at a cost of $208,000. The FEMA grant provided $149,800 toward that expense, he said, adding the remainder was paid by the organization.
“The nice thing is that it’s paid for,” Harris said.
The new ambulance has a 172-inch box, has both air and fluid suspension and is capable of carrying patients weighing as much as 1,300 pounds.
Harris said the vehicle is also equipped with a high-tech air filter system in the patient transport area and also has a new digital radio system installed at an additional cost of about $25,000.
Harris said obtaining the FEMA grant took nearly three years and he credited this year’s success to Grant Genies of Goshen, New York.
He said that Randy Ring of Grant Genies was instrumental in seeing the grant paperwork was filled out properly, resulting in the approval of federal funding.
State Sen. David Argall, R-29, and Franklin Fetter, secretary of the Ryan Township board of supervisors, were on hand for the dedication.
Fetter congratulated the organization for its outstanding work and dedication on behalf of the supervisors while Argall brought congratulatory paperwork from state Senate, the state House of Representatives and Schuylkill County.
“Your work does not go unnoticed,” Argall said.
Harris said the new ambulance joins the unit’s 1999 Ford F-150 four-wheel-drive ambulance and 1983 Mack dive rescue and rehabilitation unit.
The company also has a Mirror Craft River Runner boat that it uses for rescues in nearby Locust Lake and Tuscarora state parks as well as in surrounding counties.
Harris said the grant award came almost to the day of the 34th anniversary of the Ryan Township Emergency and Rescue Squad.
The unit was founded in 1980 and housed in a small, one-door garage that still stands on a lot next to the current station along Route 54.
Harris said the organization has 18 active members, 11 of whom are certified emergency medical technicians. In addition, Ryan Township Emergency and Rescue has a complement of certified water rescue divers and also conducts search and rescue operations.
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©2014 the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.)