Sean C. Morgan
After reading in the newspaper about the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District’s need for an ambulance, specifically a four-wheel drive, an anonymous donor has given $100,000 to the district on Dec. 2.
“I had an individual walk in the front door, and we had a conversation for a considerable length of time,” said Fire Chief Dave Barringer. The conversation covered many subjects and then turned to the district’s need for an ambulance with four-wheel drive based on the district’s terrain.
Barringer explained that the district is purchasing a used two-wheel drive.
The chief said he didn’t see coming what happened next. The donor told him he’d like to make a donation. He handed the check to Barringer, saying, “I hope this is a good start toward your purchase of a four-wheel drive ambulance.”
Barringer thought it would be rude to look at the amount and didn’t even look down. He walked away assuming it would be $10, $25 or $100, and it would have been greatly appreciated.
“I came back and looked at it,” he said. “I about fell down.”
The cash came with two strings attached, Barringer said. First, it must be anonymous and second, it must be spent on a four-wheel drive ambulance.
“The next day, I took a poinsettia and a card to his place,” Barringer said.
“We’re kind of in shock,” Barringer said. “That kind of generosity, that kind of concern, it’s almost unreal.”
It’s almost one-tenth of the district’s annual tax revenue, he said. “It’s huge. I didn’t know how to react. I am still kind of shocked by it, still humbled by it. That’s a huge gift to the community.”
He has informed the district board of the donation and what it was designated for, he said. He also pulled out specs for a brand-new 2015 ambulance with four-wheel drive. It would cost about $158,000.
Barringer and the board discussed dropping the other purchase, he said. Barringer recommended moving forward with it, although the district still must work out how to get the ambulance home from Connecticut.
That 2011 Chevrolet Duramax is owned by an American Legion group and has 49,000 miles. The district will pay $58,000 for it.
SHFAD could continue looking for a used four-wheel drive, but it will probably search for a new one, Barringer said. He believes that’s the intent of the donor.
That means, the district will need to find nearly $60,000 more. Barringer said SHFAD might pick up money from a CD or finance the remainder – or hope for further donations. Financing the rest of it will be the hold up at this point.
With two ambulances new to the district, the medical service is in a different ball game. It has three ambulances, one with more than 140,000 miles and two with more than 170,000 – along with a fourth four-wheel drive, a 1996 Chevrolet, with just 49,000. That ambulance, which carries a small box, is rarely used and primarily reserved for tight mountain roads or picking up the slack when the district has two ambulances offline. One ambulance has been down for several months.
It’s been about seven years since the district put a new ambulance on the road, Barringer said. It used to replace them on a two- or three-year cycle – although ambulances can run for more miles these days.