A retired District of Muskoka Paramedic Ambulance will be going to Guatemala.
The District at its recent Corporate and Emergency Services meeting approved the donation of a surplus ambulance to a Canadian charitable company called Globalfire.
This company gets donations of emergency equipment, vehicles, and other critical gear from Canadian fire and ambulance services and delivers it to underserved nations around the world.
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison, who sits on the Corporate Emergency Services committee in his role as a District councillor, told his council about the donation during his new business report of the meeting on October 29th.
“Generally when we are done with an ambulance we auction it off and get around $6,000 or $8,000 for it which is nothing in the grand scheme of things,” explained the newly re-elected mayor. “I’m very pleased we were able to do this. The old one has been pulled out of service. The new one has been bought.
“Instead of keeping it we have donated it and it will be in service for many years to come in Guatemala.”
Aitchison went on to explain there may be some donated equipment that can go in the ambulance.
He also revealed that rather than the ambulance be driven to central America, it would be flown via US military aircraft to Guatemala.
Aitchison, who will officially start his second term as Mayor of Huntsville in December said of the District committee, “It was a really nice thing to do and made us feel good about being there.”