In the past, Myakka City residents in need of emergency response had to wait up to 20 minutes for that crucial glimmer of hope — an ambulance — to arrive from another town. Not anymore.
Fire chiefs, commissioners, county officials and firefighters gathered Monday morning at Myakka City Fire Rescue Station 1 on Wauchula Road to commemorate the first day on the job for Myakka’s first ambulance. Before the addition, ambulances had to drive from the east Bradenton area, often East Manatee Station 5 about 16 miles away. It’s been a process about nine years in the making, according to Daniel Cacchiotti, Myakka City’s fire chief. But the idea of obtaining an ambulance for Myakka City didn’t pick up steam at the county level until about 18 months ago.