Excitement was not in short supply when Associated Ambulance moved into their new Boyle facility just over a week ago.
Centrally located at the corner of Highways 663 and 831, the move was a much-needed change from their previous shared location within the Boyle Fire Hall.
“This move will drastically improve our response time,” said Doug Topolnitsky, EMT-A operations supervisor for the Highway 63 Division.
The main reason for this improvement is that the facility is made up of two separate buildings; a six-bedroom home to house the ambulance technicians, and an office, garage and boardroom/classroom for work and training purposes.
Ambulance units, which are stored in the garage, are in close proximity to the living quarters, making it much quicker for EMTs to respond to an emergency.
With eight full-time staff and one student, the residence, along with its multitude of bedrooms, includes a full kitchen and kitchenette and two living rooms; a step up from their previous home, which had five bedrooms and one kitchen for all to share.
A mechanical backup unit is also now onsite, alleviating the need to ship broken items to Edmonton or Mayerthorpe for repair.
There is also a sense of fiscal responsibility when it comes to Associated Ambulance’s new facility; they are no longer renting, they’re now buying.
“The boss gave me the go ahead to look around,” said Topolnitsky, speaking of Associated Ambulance CEO Terry Scheuler.
Scheuler, who is stationed at Associated Ambulance’s head office in Mayerthorpe, had visited the property three times before approving the purchase.
“The house got a complete paint job from top to bottom,” explained Topolnitsky. “We did kitchen renovations and some walls were removed as well.”
They also have a fleet services office, which is located in Edmonton.
Currently, the Highway 63 Division has two ambulances in their garage with one more on its way from Edmonton. Their new facility can house up to four trucks.
In addition to Topolnitsky, Jolayne Jessamine is the other operations supervisor in the Boyle area.
With a staff of eight, there are four EMTs on duty at any given time.
