Overdue expansion taking formation
BY ANIKA ROVIG
Reporter
The Garrison Ambulance District is seeing progress in its much needed renovation expansion. Breaking ground in June of 2020 the building started to transform from a 3,000 square foot facility to the new additions tallying up the square footage to a mere 14,000 square feet.
Although the facility is functional it came with its own list of health and safety issues that would sooner or later need to be addressed.
“The garage that we currently have our trucks in the cement is sloped, so if there’s snow on the trucks it creeps back into the building, so there’s mold build up in the walls,” Amanda Melby co-manager at the Garrison Ambulance District said.
“This building is old, so we have sewer back-up issues, we have mold issues, for the health and safety of our providers that work here, the renovations are much much needed,” Melby said.
The new garage is able to harbor at least 5 of McLean County’s Ambulance’s, three of which are in Garrison, two in Max and the other in Makoti as well as a quick response suburban. The garage has been properly leveled off and lifted higher off the ground to avoid drainage issues. Another perk is that the garage has heated floors which allows the trucks to be washed throughout all four seasons.
The expansion wasn’t only meant to expand in square footage but in accommodations and community involvement as well. The expansion would allow for the community to attend training courses like CPR, First Aid and EMT training in an appropriate sized and dedicated room.
