Birnamwood receives free ambulance from Burlington

BIRNAMWOOD — On Saturday, several EMS volunteers and community members were on hand to receive the generous donation of an ambulance from the recently disbanded Burlington EMS.

The Burlington Rescue Squad had been in service since 1945, sponsored by their local Rotatry club.

The Burlington Fire Department made the decision to add ambulance service to their department. The city of Burlington and the township decided not to renew the contract of the rescue squad. They made the decision to disband. They had a fully supplied 2009 ambulance and decided to donate it.

Brian Zwiebel is a retired EMT chief for Burlington, and his father-in-law, Richard Young, lives in Birnamwood. They had been discussing the situation, and Young mentioned Birnamwood could really benefit from the donation. Birnamwood EMS ended up being one of four service departments who made the request for the ambulance.

Ronald Bauch, Birnamwood EMS director since 2013, wrote the Burlington service a letter listing some of the reasons why they would appreciate the donation. According to Bauch, they could no longer get parts for the 1995 vehicle they have, and Birnamwood is a small community with limited finances.

”We’re very fortunate to be the recipient; we were to the point where something needed to be done,” said Village Board President Mike Sprague.

Birnamwood has about 32 EMS volunteers on the roster, but only about eight to 10 are active, said Bauch. He also noted that many of the people work out of town, making it hard to have daytime coverage. The crew is dedicated, and Bauch said they train for an hour each month before their regular business meetings.

According to Zwiebel, the donated vehicle is a 2009 Medtech with less than 40,000 miles on it. He noted the mileage is so low because they were stationed just five minutes from the nearest hospital. Included in the donation were monitors, splints and a powerlift cot. The total donation was estimated to be about $300,000, said Zwiebel.

No decision has been made as to what to do with the old ambulance. Bauch mentioned it could be used as storage for additional supplies or donated to another municipality. It could also be used by the Langlade County Chiefs Association as a truck to haul extra air tanks for firefighters. Birnamwood is a part of that organization, and that would be a benefit to them, said Bauch.

The team members from Burlington gave some training for the Birnamwood members on the equipment. Lunch was served to the volunteers and local residents who came to see the new ambulance.