Muncie city officials want to purchase three ambulances for use by the Muncie Fire Department, a scaled-back version of an idea that first came up in 2017.
According to Muncie Fire Department Chief Eddie Bell, the purchase of three new ambulances would be used by MFD in basic life support (BLS) calls within the city limits, raising questions and concern from Jason Rogers, the head of Delaware County EMS.
This is a similar plan to what Mayor Dennis Tyler considered in 2017, although on a smaller scale. The original plan would have taken over all medical calls in the city limits instead of relying on DCEMS for that service.
The new plan, which could be rolled out by summer, would cost around $200,000 per ambulance and an extra $300,000 in additional support costs that would include tech support, fuel and more, or $900,000 in the first year.