WEST WYOMING — The services offered by West Wyoming Hose Company No. 1 are becoming too robust to house under one roof, so the hose company purchased another building.
Last month, the non-profit organization acquired the home at 932 Shoemaker Ave.The structure stands next to the company’s 936 Shoemaker Ave. headquarters and, as of January, is being used to house its paid on-duty ambulance service. Hose company Chief Matt Granteed said the expansion was a necessary move if the organization is to continue to provide quality service.
“Things are kind of tight here with the equipment added over the years and storage space, so the opportunity came up next door to give us more room and create quarters for the on-duty crew; sleeping quarters, full kitchen, a work area,” Granteed said. “It’ll allow us to actually provide what’s needed for a paid service like that.”
The hose company itself is a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers, but its ambulance arm is a professionally staffed entity that charges a fee for its services. A yearly $50 payment gives residents of Wyoming and West Wyoming access. Granteed said that, even with the payments, the hose company just breaks even.
“Scary even,” said hose company Deputy Chief Len Hromek.
So why bother branching out from the hose company’s titular fire fighting roots? Granteed said the option is an important one for the hose company to offer residents in need of medical care and transportation.
“If your grandmother needs an ambulance four times this month, she could be getting a bill of $4,000 from a private ambulance company,” Granteed said. “If she pays us $50 at the beginning of the year, she’s good for the whole year.”
Changes to the former home include a newly furnished kitchen and living area, sleeping quarters and an administrative office for on-duty emergency medical technicians. The hose company expects its new base of ambulance operations to be ready by the end of this month.
