Peabody ambulance station debated
Staff writer
County commissioner Randy Dallke and commission chairman Dave Mueller met Aug. 21 with Peabody firefighters and their board of directors to talk about how two community needs could be taken care of in the same stroke.
Community members and four members of the city council showed up to hear the discussion.
Despite state law requiring one, no notice that a majority of council would be present was sent.
All told, 41 people packed into the fire station meeting room until it was standing room only.
Fire Chief Colton Glenn said his fire department had bought land in north Peabody years ago and saved money to build a new fire station.
The existing fire station, on Sycamore St., lies in a flood plain.
Plans have been drawn for the new station and Glenn has talked with Emergency Medical Service director Chuck Kenney about building storage for ambulances and a place for on-duty ambulance technicians to spend their shifts.
Dallke and Mueller, however, want separate buildings, co-located on the same ground.
That would take more ground than the fire department owns.
Glenn said he had talked to the owner of adjoining land and hadn’t yet reached a deal to buy enough land to erect a separate ambulance building there.
Peabody’s fire station and ambulance station were, in the past, housed in the same building. At that time, it didn’t work well.
Ways to avoid problems that sprang up in the past were discussed.
Separate pantries and kitchen areas might help, one Peabody resident suggested.
Another said personnel should be told to get along.
“That’s a damned good idea,” one of the townspeople said.
The biggest problem with putting an ambulance station in Peabody is the cost, Dallke said.
“But we own the land,” Glenn said.
Dallke said the current station doesn’t have room for attendants to sleep.
Despite different needs for the two departments, Dallke assured fire department members that the county wanted to work with, not against, them.
“We know Peabody needs help, and we’re ready to move,” Mueller said.
Since Peabody residents who formerly staffed the town’s ambulance retired, the city has had long waits for ambulances to arrive, prompting some residents to move away.
Both Glenn and the commissioners admit it will take time to iron out the right blend of housing for both departments, but both sides want to do the right thing for the community.
Kenney said he hoped to get solid plans soon because he needs a station in Peabody.
“The sooner, the better,” he said. “When we can get an EMS station there, the happier I’ll be. There are times time matters.”
There are benefits to having one building and benefits to separate buildings, he said.
“We just need to get a full-time crew down there — a paramedic and an EMT,” he said. “We need to provide the basics of medical care to the south part of the county. “Despite different needs for the two departments, Dallke assured fire department members that the county wanted to work with, not against, them.
“We know Peabody needs help, and we’re ready to move,” Mueller said.
Since Peabody residents who formerly staffed the town’s ambulance retired, the city has had long waits for ambulances to arrive, prompting some residents to move away.
Both Glenn and the commissioners admit it will take time to iron out the right blend of housing for both departments, but both sides want to do the right thing for the community.