(3/24) Come mid to late April, members of the Vigilant Hose Company (VHC) will say hello to their new Ambulance #68.

With nearly eleven years of service to Emmitsburg and the surrounding communities, members of VHC have put over 100,000 miles on old #68, a 2012 ambulance. "It was time to replace #68 due to small mechanical problems," VHC’s Captain Frank Davis said.

The VHC donated old #68 to a small department in Kentucky that lost all the equipment due to a flood that occurred in late 2022. The VHC has been using a county owned reserve ambulance until the new ambulance is delivered.

The new #68 will be a 2023 Road Rescue on a Ford F-550 chassis. Road Rescue is a company that builds ambulances "Street Tough," Davis explained. The equipment in the new ambulance is "pretty much standard, but does have cameras in the patient compartment so the driver can see what is happening in the back."

VHC started to plan for this unit back in 2020 based upon a historical delivery timeline of 12-15 months. But the delivery is taking longer than anticipated due to shortage of materials. "Emergency services as a whole is suffering due to shortage of supplies and equipment," Davis said.

Chief Josh Brotherton stated, "We are excited for the delivery of the new ambulance so we can continue to provide the best service to the citizens of Emmitsburg and surrounding communities."

President Tom Ward said, "VHC is proud to be in the position to purchase a new ambulance to better serve Emmitsburg and surrounding communities. Through sound fiscal management we are to purchase this ambulance with cash in hand. I give enormous credit to EMS Captain Frank Davis for his sound leadership and oversight of our EMS Operations. The new #68 will sport the VHC’s color and paint scheme, and in doing so, finally align all its equipment to one paint scheme, something it has had to contend with since its merge with the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company in 2018."

The new ambulance will be used by both career and volunteer personnel. Historically the VHC has had two ambulances (#68 and #69), and on a monthly basis rotates which ambulance is used for first calls. This helps to equal out the mileage between the two ambulances.

Money for the new #68 came from proceeds received over the past few years from the Ambulance Subscription Funds. The Ambulance Subscription Fund is an County based insurance program, costing between $15 to $50, offered to every resident in the County. Subscribers receive a waiver of any insurance co-pay, or any user fee responsibility if there is no insurance coverage.

Ambulance transportation fees range from $320 to $700 depending on the level of care. Patients may also be charge up to $10 a mile to be transposed to the nearest medical facility.

VHC additionally anticipates to take delivery of a new Tower 6, which will cost the company $1.6 million, and a new duty vehicle this Fall.