Ansonia Rescue and Medical Services Facebook
Bravo 8 – one of two ambulances getting a replacement, along with Bravo 6 – at the Relay for Life event at Nolan Field in 2023.
ANSONIA – Ansonia Rescue Medical Services (ARMS) is adding two new ambulances to its fleet, following a contract signed by the city on July 26.
The two ambulances will cost about $695,000 and are expected to arrive by January 2028. The new ambulances will replace two vehicles that ARMS has used since 1999 and 2010, according to ARMS Chief Michael Warhola.
Warhola said that ambulances have an eight- to ten-year lifespan, and that the two vehicles being replaced had been out of warranty for years. The last time ARMS got new vehicles was in 2017.
ARMS has five vehicles total, with four in active service and one being used as a reserve vehicle. After the new ambulances arrive, an ambulance that was purchased in 2010 will move to reserve.
The Aldermen approved the purchase at their June 11 meeting, following an earlier discussion in May which was tabled at the time. During the May meeting, Alderman Joseph Cassetti – who sits on the Commission – echoed concerns raised by Warhola, saying that a swift approval was necessary to lock in lower prices.
Ansonia budget director Kurt Miller said in a phone call with The Valley Indy that the purchase will likely be paid for via proceeds of the city’s $41 million WPCA sale. He said he plans to set aside money for the ambulances when the sale closes in December.
Voters approved borrowing to pay for the sale last November, but Miller said the WPCA sale made borrowing unnecessary. He said some of that money will also be set aside for other projects in the city’s capital spending plan, which he expects to present to the Aldermen at their next meeting on Aug. 13.
The new ambulances will be “almost identical” to the ones purchased in 2017, Warhola told The Valley Indy. They were purchased from Eastford Fire & Rescue Sales, a Connecticut distributor of emergency vehicles.
The contract estimates the price at $695,407.98 but notes that costs could increase due to inflation between now and the delivery date. Warhola said that further modifications will need to be made once the ambulances arrive, and estimated the cost of those modifications at between $350,000 and $400,000.
