The Silver Lake Fire Department is receiving a donation of two pieces of useful equipment.
The Silver Lake Village Board last week accepted the donation of two ambulances from Murphy Ambulance. One vehicle is a 2001 model and the other is a 1998 model.
“It’s a very generous offer for this company to make,” said Trustee David Snow, also a member of the fire department.
The ambulances will not be used for transporting patients. Silver Lake Rescue, a separate private entity, provides emergency medical service to the village.
Instead the fire department may use the ambulances as a first response vehicle instead of taking out an engine. They could also be used for towing things such as fire department boats and trailers and also could transport firefighters more efficiently to out of the village training, such as at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha.
“I’ve seen them,” said village President Jeff Albrecht. “They are in really good shape.”
Both ambulances have about 280,000 miles out of an expected 400,000 miles vehicle life, Snow said. They have an estimated value of $12,000 each.
