Jamestown Looking For New Ambulance Service As Medical Calls Increase

JAMESTOWN – The City of Jamestown is looking for a new ambulance service as medical calls contintue to increase.

City leaders say they are in the process of drafting a request for proposals to provide ambulance service within city limits.

If a company is selected following the open bid process, they would become the main responder to emergencies in the city. The Jamestown Fire Department would act as a secondary responder to medical calls.

In September 2019, the Jamestown Fire Department’s Union sounded the alarm about understaffing issues within the department. Specifically, they say policy placed residents at risk by only having enough fire fighters to staff the city’s ambulance leaving the ladder truck out of service and unavailable to respond to structure fires.

City officials since then announced the Smart City Capital Investment Program, that included the purchase of two new ambulances. Officials also talked about starting their own ambulance service.

Crews say the uptick in calls is most likely caused by the lack of response from Alstar EMS, who in recent years has reduced emergency response service in Jamestown.