Tri-Community Ambulance Service is looking to expand its current base in Sanborn to house all its operations.
The service that covers the towns of Wheatfield, Cambria, Lewiston and the Tuscarora Indian Reservation wants to build a 10,570-square-foot building at 6276 Ward Road. Jim Churchill of Churchill Architectural is designing the expansion.
“We’re the busiest volunteer agency in the county,” said Tri-Community President Amanda Ohlson. “We want to move it all to one location on Ward Road.”
Ohlson added they currently do not have enough space to store all their equipment, which includes four ambulances, soon to be five, and an air ambulance.
The current facility at that address is around 3,800 square feet, with the service renting space at 6420 Inducon Drive W for training and office space. The air ambulance has to be stored with local fire companies.
Building the expansion would involve merging two neighboring R1-zoned parcels the service acquired seven years ago and demolishing structures there at the Ward and Lockport roads intersection. Additional parking spaces and storm drainage would be added to satisfy town requirements.
The service will cover the full $2.5 million cost of the new facility. It does not receive any money from state or local governments, so patient bills and fundraisers are its only monetary sources.
The service has 110 volunteers on its roster, made up of drivers, paramedics, and EMTs who respond to around 2,100 calls a year.
The Niagara County Planning Board approved the expansion at its May meeting. It still needs approval from the Town of Wheatfield Planning Board. Ohlson hopes to start construction in the fall, having been told it would take two years to fully complete.