Methodist donates ambulance to city

An old ambulance will find new life as Dyersburg's communications command vehicle. Methodist Healthcare-Dyersburg Hospital and its ambulance service donated the 1991 ambulance to the city Tuesday afternoon. Dyersburg Fire Capt. Tommy Gibbons said he hopes to have the interior reconfigured and the unit ready for service within six weeks.

The communications command vehicle ultimately will provide a mobile meeting room for officials during disasters and may be used as a dispatch center if anything ever happens to the city's emergence operations center. Gibbons estimated that it will cost about $10,000 to turn the ambulance into a command vehicle. That's much better than buying a new unit at $75,000, he said.

Dyersburg Mayor Bill Revell thanked hospital Administrator Coleman Foss and ambulance service Director Charles Barham for the donation. Foss said the ambulance service recently acquired another ambulance and decided to retire the 1991 model. Instead of selling the older ambulance, though, the hospital decided to give it to the city.

Barham said that, in the past, ambulances have been given to the Millsfield, Tigrett and Trimble volunteer fire departments, which now use them as rescue and equipment units.

Gibbons said the city received an ambulance about seven years ago. The unit, now dubbed "Rescue 5," makes about 800 calls a year, he said.