Guthrie EMS receives much-needed ambulance van

The Guthrie Fire Department recently added a new ambulance to their fleet. A desperate piece of equipment due to the aging of the current fleet.

The department welcomed a 2023 Ram 2500 ambulance van to help with transferring patients from hospital to hospital, and other possible calls within city limits.

The Guthrie City Council approved the purchase during their Aug. 15 meeting.

City Manager Eddie Faulkner and Fire Chief Dane Lausen explained how the current fleet is aging and is constantly facing downtime due to constant repairs.

Prior to the purchase, the fire department had all five ambulances out of service and was dependent on the use of a borrowed ambulance from the Kingfisher Fire Department.

 “I think we found a solution for now,” Faulkner told the council about the van ambulance. “This is not a long-term solution by any means, but these guys need something today.”

The total cost of the vehicle was $185,827.41 which includes a care stretcher from Stryker.

A budget amendment was approved for the purchase using unbudgeted revenue from the increase in ambulance/EMS collections within the Fire Fund.

“We cannot thank the city management, council, and mayor enough for approving this purchase,” the fire department said in a social media post. “We thank our tax-paying citizens. We would not be able to operate without them.”