Town of Tonawanda scales back plans for own ambulance service

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The Town of Tonawanda is rolling back its original plans to run its own ambulance service.

On Monday, officials voted on a new two-year contract with Twin City Ambulance, the provider that currently provides emergency response services to the town.

Just last October, the town was looking to replace Twin City Ambulance with its own ambulance service after concerns from residents regarding response times. Now, that plan has changed.

Town Supervisor Joe Emminger admitted bringing the idea to life was far more complicated than he anticipated.

"I originally thought it'd be the beginning part of 2025, then it became the middle of 2025, and then I just said sometime in 2025," Emminger said. "I didn't realize all of the complexities of getting into this situation."

Emminger cited numerous factors that led to the decision to scale back his original idea.

"It became more problematic dealing with the regulatory agencies at the state level," Emminger said. "Getting approvals takes times to get all this stuff together."

The town was originally looking to hire 20 EMT's for its own service but Emminger said they did not even receive 20 applications for the open positions.

The new agreement will still include Twin City providing services around the clock, but the town is also going to have one of its own ambulances on the streets with plans to hire just four EMT's to staff it.

For its original plan, the town purchased three ambulances and acquired an additional one. While it will only be keeping two, Emminger said the others won't be going to waste.

"Other municipalities have reached out to us and we're going to be selling those other two ambulances," Emminger said. "Or they will at least be leased by the end of the year."

Due to the town selling the vehicles purchased, Emminger emphasized the new service will not put any financial burden on taxpayers. He said it is a win-win situation for everyone.

"This isn't the plan I had envisioned last October but I think it's a plan that really does serve the town of Tonawanda," Emminger said. "I don't know what's going to happen going forward. We're going to crawl before we can walk. We are certainly grateful to Twin City for the discussions that we've had."

Emminger said he hopes to have the four EMT's on the road by the end of the year. The agreement will be in effect until October 2027.