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In about a year, the Brooke County Ambulance Service is expected to have a new, larger central location.
County officials and staff from the ambulance service gathered Monday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony at its future site near the intersection of Pleasant Avenue and W.Va. 2 at Wellsburg's north end.
Designed by the Thrasher Corp. of Clarksburg, the 2,475-square-foot building will include five bays, each about 12 feet wide; four living quarters; a conference-training room; two offices and a storage area for equipment.
Crews with the Waller Corp. of Washington, Pennsylvania, engaged in preliminary work for the $2 million project soon after the ceremony.
A.J. Thomas, president of the Brooke County Commission, said it's being funded with general county money set aside in recent years and not by the county's ambulance excess levy, but he expressed thanks to voters who have overwhelmingly supported the levy through the years.
Plans call for the new headquarters to replace a station on property along state Route 2 in Follansbee leased by the county for $1 and another in the Marshall Terrace area off W.Va. 67. The latter site is owned by the county and might be sold through a public auction, said Thomas.
He noted the new location is close to the center of the county and not far from W.Va. 2, a major transportation artery through it.
Thomas said the commission is considering posting flashing lights near the intersection to alert approaching drivers when an ambulance is entering it. He added trees along the embankment between the station and the highway will be removed to ease visibility.
In 2020, the commissioners purchased the property for about $26,500 and razed two small buildings there to accommodate the project.
Jeff Luck, deputy director of the ambulance service, said bringing the ambulance service under one roof will be a cost savings by eliminating utility and other expenses for the two buildings.
He and county Ambulance Director Andy Nickerson confirmed it's the first time the agency will be operating from a building designed specifically for its operations. In his 22nd year with the ambulance service, Nickerson noted the ambulance service operated from the Follansbee and Wellsburg fire stations, with the cooperation of those departments, as well as the basement of the county courthouse, which is in the floodplain.
Nickerson and Luck said they will welcome the additional space.
Luck said they have been retiring older vehicles in the agency's fleet with high mileage and adding new ones.
Its newest ambulance, and the second to be fitted with a hydraulic lift to aid crews in conveying a stretcher inside, is expected to arrive in the next several days.
The Rev. Debra Dague, a local pastor and paramedic with the ambulance service, said the new building will create a better work environment for its staff of about 30 full- and part-time personnel.
She and the Rev. Brian Knight offered prayer and reflection on the development during the groundbreaking.
Knight said the building, while supporting the agency's operations, also will "function as a symbol of the hard task of providing emergency help to those in need."
He praised the staff's dedication and willingness to sacrifice to serve the public.