DEL NORTE— For the second year in a row, the Del Norte Community Ambulance Service invited the public to come out and meet the crew, check out their new ambulance and enjoy some delicious food on July 19. The ambulance barn located on Pine Street in Del Norte was packed with people eager to get to know the emergency personnel that help keep the area around Del Norte safe.
Ambulance board members mingled with EMTs and local residents throughout the night, laughing about days long gone and spoke about some of the things currently happening in the area. “We wanted to be able to get out in the public and introduce our crew and let them come see the ambulances. Last year went really well, so this year, we decided to host the barbeque again,” said Ambulance Board President Carla Fresquez.
There were three ambulances on site for people to look through but the one that caught the most attention was the newest one, a 2018 Dodge. “We had never done a grant before. No one had any idea how to go about writing one, but we put our heads together and applied for a $180,000 grant through the State of Colorado and we were awarded in the spring of this year. We had to pay for the ambulance up front, but will be reimbursed minus our 10 percent matching funds,” said Fresquez.
The ambulance was custom made by both board and crew members in order to better fit their needs while out on a call. For instance, one of the older ambulances did not have the room needed to move around while flying down the road, trying to care for a patient mostly because of where the benches were placed along one of the walls. In the new ambulance, crew members had the benches placed in a different location with a swivel chair placed near the head of the patient when they are on the stretcher that allows for easier access and makes it so the crew members do not have to move around so much during an emergency.
“We are now looking into grant funding for a CPR machine and a new stretcher. The one we have is great, but they make some that can be lifted with a single finger and our community deserves the best,” stated Fresquez.
Fresquez also mentioned that the ambulance service in Del Norte is in need of volunteers who want to train to become EMTs. “We are down on numbers and most of who is on the crew has been on it for 25 to 30 years.”
The barbeque was made possible through generous donations by the River Valley Inn Nursing Home who donated the meat for the event and crew members who purchased all of the chips, buns and condiments. The night was a huge success and plans for next year are already underway.