SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind, -- An Indiana community's emergency medical service is in full recovery mode after a devastating fire destroyed the ambulance service.
Sullivan County's EMS program is making due with borrowed equipment and lots of help from the community.
The fire started just after 6:30 a.m. Thursday at the Sullivan County Ambulance Facility. It destroyed three vehicles.
Nevertheless, Sullivan County EMS was back in service within eight hours.
The building remains boarded and off-limits. The investigation into where and how the fire began remains open and ongoing. Investigators believe the fire started in the engines of one of the vehicles.
"The main this is, we can replace the building and the trucks," said Sullivan Co. EMA Director Jim Pirtle. "But you can't replace personnel. Luckily, it happened at the time it did. Two hours earlier, it could have been devastating. People could have died."
News of the loss spread quickly throughout southwest Indiana. Terre Haute and Knox County loaned Sullivan two ambulances until it could lease two of its own. Another fire service donated much-needed medical supplies.
"It's a big loss," EMS Director Kenny Bogard. "We're a small, rural area. We provide service to 20,000 people. The good thing is, we've been able to maintain proper coverage for the area with a lot of help from surrounding areas."
Sullivan County Commissioners voted to buy a brand new ambulance that will be delivered in three weeks.
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