The South Berwick Fire Department will be getting its first ambulance this fall when it buys a used ambulance for $32,000 from the town of Ogunquit.
The Town Council this month unanimously agreed to buy the first of two ambulances it plans to purchase as the Fire Department prepares to operate its own ambulance and EMS service next year.
Voters in May passed a budget that included $433,000 to fund an ambulance service for South Berwick, which currently contracts out the service to York Ambulance. The budget included $100,000 to $125,000 for an ambulance.
The 2011 Ford, while a few years older than he was initially looking for, Fire Chief Nick Hamel told the council at its Aug. 12 meeting, is in immaculate condition with only 40,000 miles on it.
Used ambulances in decent shape are very hard to find, Hamel said, noting, “Ogunquit takes the best of the best of care of their equipment…There’s not even a fanny print on the driver’s seat, it is so new.”
Hamel approached Ogunquit after he learned the nearby town was getting a new ambulance, and the town offered to sell its used ambulance to South Berwick for the amount it was offered on a trade-in, he said.
In addition, the ambulance comes with a powered stretcher and loading system that would cost about $72,000 new, said Hamel, something he expected South Berwick would have to purchase separately.
The loading system helps emergency medical technicians by securing and lifting a stretcher into the ambulance, greatly reducing the injury risk to providers and ensuring patients are handled safely, Hamel explained in an email.
“EMS providers are notoriously prone to lifting injuries,” he noted.
South Berwick will take over the ambulance once Ogunquit gets its new vehicle, expected to be in late September.
“This is a phenomenal, phenomenal deal for the town of South Berwick,” said Town Manager Tim Pellerin.
South Berwick has been providing EMS services in town since Aug. 1, using an SUV with all the required medical equipment, but is still relying on York Ambulance for transport services.
The department expects to have full ambulance service with cross-trained firefighters and EMTs on staff by July 2026, when the current contract with York Ambulance expires.
Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood has been generous in working with South Berwick, Hamel told the council.
“Chief Osgood has been a great help through this whole process,” he said, “[and is] pretty excited to help us out and get us on our feet.”
