DIAMOND SPRINGS, Calif. — A Diamond Springs ambulance began service again after eight months of being decommissioned due to understaffing.
The ambulance, known as Medic 49, is part of the El Dorado County Fire Protection District and is now staffed with paramedics who recently completed mandatory county trainings.
While Medic 49 started taking calls for service March 15, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held Saturday to "recognize the ambulance’s grand reopening."
Prior to the shut down of Medic 49 last year it was the second busiest medic unit in the system, running over 3,200 incidents annually, according to the district.
"Reopening Medic 49 attests to the cooperation and teamwork of both Fire District to provide essential emergency medical services," said the El Dorado County Fire Protection District in a press release.
Medic 49 joins seven other 24-hour emergency response medical units in El Dorado County’s western slope as part of the county's Emergency Services Authority. These units serve roughly 150,000 county residents, according to officials.
Station 49 hosts Medic 49 in Diamond Springs, an area of more than 11,300 people according to 2020 census data, to "maintain good area coverage," said a press release.
New paramedic ambulance operators were sworn in by Fire Chief Tim Cordero during the ceremony and received their badges and a traditional blessing from Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Tribal Fire Director John Tayaba.
Watch the full ceremony HERE.
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