State lends ambulance to Beacon Hose

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By Elio Gugliotti, Editor

A Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 firefighter douses an ambulance that caught fire May 11 on Blackberry Hill Road in Beacon Falls. -CONTRIBUTED

BEACON FALLS — Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 wasn’t down to just one ambulance for too long.

The engine of one of Beacon Hose’s ambulance caught fire May 11 as EMTs were transporting a patient to Waterbury Hospital. No one was injured in the fire, but the blaze left the volunteer company with only one ambulance.

Five days after the fire, Beacon Hose had a temporary loaner ambulance in the firehouse. The ambulance came from the Southbury Training School Fire Department, which is operated by the state Department of Developmental Services.

In a statement, DDS said the department no longer provides EMS services to the Southbury Training School, which serves individuals with intellectual disabilities and is owned and run by the state, and offered the ambulance to help Beacon Hose through a difficult situation.

“DDS is proud to partner with the local community and offer a helping hand during these extraordinarily challenging times,” the statement read.

Beacon Hose picked up the ambulance, which is now under the town’s insurance, May 16 and outfitted it with equipment from the ambulance that caught fire. Beacon Hose is using the loaner as the company’s secondary ambulance until a new ambulance arrives.

The ambulance that caught fire was going to be replaced this fiscal year, and the new one was ordered before the fire. It’s expected to arrive in town in about a month.