By Rennie Davis
The tragic Van-Far ambulance accident on Hwy. 61 just south of Hannibal last year, which severely injured Jason Bostick and Leslie Dahl, removed a valuable piece of equipment as well as their talented services from this community. It has finally been replaced.
Since that collision, neighboring ambulance districts have stepped in to back up Van-Far when the need arose. Some districts even sent ambulances and crews to take shifts when Van-Far was shorthanded. That help came from crews as far away as St. Louis and the State of Iowa who volunteered to help if and when needed.
The Van-Far Ambulance board worked hard to try to find a second ambulance to replace the wrecked one, so the area would have a backup. Used vehicles were hard to find and the board checked into new ones as well. The board learned that the price of a new ambulance had almost doubled since the last time the district had purchased one.
In August of 2023 the board voted to buy an ambulance from Craig Smith of American Response Vehicles in Columbia, Mo. Although many options were looked at, it was still going to cost over $300,000 for a new rig.
Smith stated that the problem was he wouldn’t be able to deliver it for 20-24 months. After the board expressed Vandalia’s dire need for one as soon as possible, he said he would look into it. He found a district that had ordered one previously and would let us have their order place and take ours since their district already had backup ambulances.
At this point, Craig hoped to be able to deliver in January or February at the earliest. But then, Van-Far Ambulance District Administrator Wendy Hull, received notice that it would be April or May before delivery.
Smith had told the board that the problem was the Ford chassis were in such demand, and production was behind because of COVID-19 related shortages. Those chassis were in short supply. Chevy and Dodge were not making chassis at that point. Hull then received notice from ARV that it would be July or August before the ambulance would be ready.
On Aug. 8, the new ambulance finally arrived at the ambulance base at 10 a.m. Smith from ARV personally delivered the new vehicle. He said a Ford chassis was finally found for it from PL Custom in New Jersey. It was taken to West Jefferson, N.C., where it was married with the ambulance box. After assembly, it was brought to Columbia where the construction was finalized.
After delivery, Wendy said that the radios were to be installed on Aug. 9, and then the rig would be stocked with all the materials and monitors needed to operate.
“It’s been a long time coming, and it really looks great,” she said.