NEW AMBULANCE FOR FD3

Columbia County Fire District 3 brought home to Dayton the newest member of its response team on August 21: a shiny new ambulance. The bright red aid car will begin serving Columbia County citizens after it receives its FD3 decals this month; the apparatus replaces one of two ambulances at Fire District 3. The old aid car, a white, single-body vehicle on a van chassis, had over 100,000 miles on it and was purchased used in 2009 or early 2010, according to Fire Chief Rick Turner. The College Place Fire Department bought it from FD3 for $46,000. The brand-new ambulance, purchased from Braun Northwest in Chehalis, Washington, cost approximately $136,000 but should provide more than the average 100,000 miles of use because its has a modular box mounted on a truck chassis, Turner said. The truck chassis can be replaced should the need arise, and the box retained, saving money overall in the cost to update or replace the aid car. Unlike Walla Walla County and other surrounding jurisdictions, Columbia County does not charge its citizens an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) tax, so all costs to run FD3's EMS program -- staffing, equipment, and vehicles -- is paid for by user fees.