Fentress Looks to Add 2 Four-Wheel Drive Ambulances

Fentress County is looking to use a CDBG grant to add 2 four-wheel drive ambulances in 2021.

This was requested by the community at a public hearing in November. Director of Ambulance Services Micah Dunford said without a hospital in Fentress County, medical emergencies cannot wait on roads to be cleared to get to hospitals in surrounding counties.

“If the weather got pretty bad and snow was heavy we could look and say, ‘Hey, you know the roads are pretty treacherous… lets wait and let them clear them off a little bit and then we’ll transfer that patient wherever they need to be, but you know we can hold them here at the hospital,'” Dunford said. “Unfortunately for us now, we don’t have that option.”

Dunford said four-wheel drive will only be needed on a small percentage of calls. However, he said the goal is being able to reach 100 percent of calls for accidents like an ATV crash or injuries on horseback.

“The fact of getting to that patient, we’ve always got four-wheel drive through volunteer responders, like rescue squad… they can help us get out to that patient, but again you’re talking about extended time,” Dunford said. “As a director… you think well I don’t want to get the ambulance in a sticky situation, that we get it stuck and can’t get out.”

The Fentress County Executive’s Office said the maximum amount available for this grant is $420,000, with a four percent match. Dunford said the price tag on these ambulances vary from $165,000 to $200,00.