BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — As emergency service operations struggle to deal with personnel shortages and high fuel costs Massena’s rescue squad is also dealing with the rising costs of vehicles.

Village officials are moving quickly to purchase a new ambulance for the Rescue Squad but a number of questions remain before finalizing the deal.

Fire Department Foreman Aaron Hardy informed the board that the chassis for the ambulance is currently being constructed by Gorman, a manufacturer that specializes in building rescue vehicles.

“This is another expense that’s spilled over from the town to the village when we took over the Rescue Squad but it’s a very necessary expense,” Hardy said.

The new ambulance won’t come cheap, slated to cost the village $311,910.

“The ambulance this will replace is a 2008 and has needed replacement since 2016. It’s really become a huge money pit, so we need to weigh the pros and cons of keeping that current ambulance or buying a new one,” Hardy said.

Deputy Matt LeBire had minor reservations after confirming with Hardy that one of the four ambulances currently in the fleet was already bonded for.

“If we look at the numbers with the treasurer (Kevin Felt) and we find it’s financially doable, I am all for it. My only concern is that this service is not supposed to cost the tax payers anything and a second bond might be a lot to take on,” LeBire said.

Hardy agreed, while pointing out that the oldest ambulance has been in and out of multiple garages in recent months.

“I know Marty has seen it in the DPW garage a bunch of times and we’ve also had to wait on one part from International for 3-6 months. It’s been out of commission a lot, which adds a lot of extra miles and stress to the other three in our fleet,” Hardy said.

Another issue that may arise is the vehicle not meeting Department of Transportation or Department of Health standards, which could permanently take it out of commission.

“If either one of them doesn’t give the go ahead, it’s off the road. We really need to make sure it’s ready to go so we can help our residents,” Hardy said.

According to Hardy, if too many calls come in at the same time with one ambulance down, mutual aid will have to be called for or patients would see an extended wait time before receiving assistance.

“Obviously neither option is ideal, which is why the town and Rescue Squad had ordered the replacement,” Hardy said.

Officials must move quickly however to avoid a price rise. In accordance with the contract in place for the last eight months, a second price hike is due in July if a down payment of 10% is not received.

“We will have to do our due diligence with the treasurer and see if we need to bond for the ambulance,” Mayor Greg Paquin said.

Though the specific price hike is not known, the ambulance was originally expected to cost $276, 884, officials say.