WALDPORT – The Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District has acquired a rescue vehicle and an incident command vehicle from Pacific West Ambulance in exchange for an ambulance it received from the federal government seven years ago.
The district purchased the ambulance with a federal grant in 2015, but later its board voted to turn over the ambulance service to PacWest. The ambulance was rarely used since then, the district said in a news release, but created ongoing costs because regulations required regularly scheduled re-stocking of medicine and supplies.
In 2020, the district began getting rid of surplus or unneeded equipment and approached PacWest general manager Jeff Mathia about buying it. They agreed that PacWest would find and purchase a rescue vehicle and a command SUV, which the fire district needed, in exchange for the ambulance.
The fire district has spent the past few weeks upgrading wiring, installing radios, headsets and lighting systems in the two vehicles.
“The goal was to bring functional equipment and apparatus to our district with minimal to no financial impact to the community,” COCF&R said in a news release announcing the swaps.
