Renfrew County paramedic service won't be affected 0
Submitted photo This County of Renfrew Paramedic Service ambulance was heavily damaged when it collided with an electrical pole at the corner of Pembroke Street East and Elizabeth Street North Tuesday. The pole also needed to be replaced.
The County of Renfrew Paramedic Service is down an ambulance in its fleet following a two-vehicle collision Tuesday morning.
Paramedic Chief Mike Nolan provided an update on the crash to members of the Renfrew County health committee Wednesday. While en route to an emergency call Tuesday morning an ambulance, with lights and sirens activated, travelling on Pembroke Street East was involved with a collision with a pick-up truck at the intersection of Elizabeth Street North. The ambulance hit a critical electrical pole causing extensive damage to the ambulance and the pole, which has since been replaced by crews from the Ottawa River Power Corporation.
The collision, which forced the closure of a section of Pembroke Street East for more than a day, was investigated by Constable Jim Carnegie of the Pembroke Police Service. The driver of the pick-up truck has been charged with fail to yield to traffic on a through highway.
Chief Nolan indicated the ambulance was among one of the newer vehicles in the fleet and although it is under review he expects it will be written off. A fortunate aspect of the timing of the collision is that the service has two new Sprinter ambulances expected to go online within the next couple of weeks. While he would typically get rid of the two oldest vehicles, he will now have the option to maintain one older vehicle until the damaged vehicle can be replaced. It usually takes between seven and nine months to get a new ambulance from the manufacturer.
“This will not compromise our ability to serve the public,” Chief Nolan said.
The two-member paramedic crew and student on board the ambulance involved in the collision were treated at the scene by another crew responding to the accident, transported to the Pembroke Regional Hospital and later released. The driver of the truck was not injured and refused treatment and transport to hospital.
“We’re happy that nobody was seriously injured,” the chief added.
Tina Peplinskie is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist
Twitter: @TPeplinskieOBS
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