New Ambulance

West Point Volunteer Fire Association was formed in 1961 with the purpose of providing emergency fire, rescue, and medical services, and has recently established a 501(c)3 status.  We currently have 26 firefighters, of which 13 are certified EMTs.  West Point Fire provides emergency coverage for the southwestern portion of Tippecanoe County and northeastern Fountain County.  We currently have 1 pumper truck, 2 tankers, 1 pumper/rescue truck, 1 grass/field truck, and 2 ambulances.  We have contracts for emergency coverage with Wayne, Jackson, and Davis townships.  We also have mutual aid agreements with all other Tippecanoe and Fountain County departments.  In addition to assisting other Tippecanoe and Fountain County fire departments, we have a well-established mutual aid agreement with the Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service (TEAS).  Due to these mutual aid agreements, West Point Fire has responded to emergencies in Tippecanoe, Fountain, and Warren counties, 13 different townships, Interstate 65, Lafayette City, West Lafayette City, Purdue University’s Campus, and Attica City.  Over and above local emergency responses, West Point Fire has assisted with large-scale incidents like the Henryville tornado and Hurricane Katrina.  We also, frequently, provide support for community events in the surrounding area like the McCutcheon Triathlon, West Point 5k run, Southwestern football games, Fishing Without Boundaries in Monticello, Purdue Triathlon, Every 15 Minutes High School Programs, etc.  

Generally, the county governments are responsible for providing ambulance services, and the townships are responsible for fire protection services.  Due to West Point’s distance from local hospitals, West Point Fire, in 1961, became one of the first volunteer departments in Tippecanoe County to provide medical transportation in an old converted hearse.  Then in 1978, West Point Fire established an arrangement with Tippecanoe County to acquire, every 4-5 years, gently used ambulances that were formerly operated by the county.  Under this arrangement, those ambulances would later be donated to another non-profit organization.  This arrangement continued from 1978 until just recently.  Tippecanoe County has now contracted ambulance services with Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service (TEAS), which is a private company.  Unfortunately, with the privatization of the ambulance services, the previous arrangement that provided West Point Fire with ambulances no longer exists.  West Point Fire’s oldest ambulance is a 1998 Ford, while the most recent ambulance that we received from the county, over 5 years ago in 2010, is a 2002 Ford.  This 2002 ambulance currently has wear and tear from just under 200,000 hard-driven miles.  

The need for West Point’s ambulance service is abundant, so having a reliable truck is essential.  In 2014-2015, we have responded to 536 ambulance runs, and have seen a 122% increase in ambulance runs in the last 5 years.  It is not uncommon for both West Point ambulances to be in-service on runs simultaneously.  We are hoping, with your assistance, West Point Volunteer Fire Association could purchase and set up a new ambulance.  

West Point fire has primary coverage agreements with Wayne and Jackson townships in Tippecanoe County, and Davis Township in Fountain County.  These townships provide financial assistance for West Point Fire and help offset the cost of equipment like radios, PPE, rescue tools, heart monitors, defibrillators, etc.  Purchasing an ambulance is currently outside of the budgetary means for both the department and the townships that we primarily serve.  West Point fire is requesting $175,000 towards the purchase of a new ambulance.  Stocking the ambulance with consumable supplies and equipment would come out of the West Point Fire Association’s operating budget, or would be purchased with assistance from the townships that are within our primary coverage area.