Capital City Fire and Rescue is lending a helping hand to one of Juneau’s neighbors.
On July 10th, a Skagway Fire Department ambulance crashed on the Klondike Highway, seriously injuring four volunteer paramedics.
The wreck also totaled the community’s only ambulance. So, Skagway officials turned to Juneau, where Fire Chief Rich Etheridge offered to loan out a backup emergency vehicle.
“What we were able to do is ship them our ambulance, with an agreement through the attorneys office, so that they can get back in service providing medical service to their community,” Etheridge says. “And we didn’t lose any response capability to our community because Auke Bay Fire Station is undergoing renovation right now.”
Etheridge says it could take Skagway up to six months to replace its ambulance.
The four paramedics hurt in the accident are all recovering. Two of them were medevac’d to Juneau the night of the crash; another was flown to Seattle with more serious injuries.
Mayor Bruce Botelho thanked Etheridge at this week’s Assembly meeting.
Casey Kelly is a reporter at KTOO in Juneau.
