THOMASVILLE — Tuesday, Sept. 5, will be an important day for Thomas County residents who live in Ochlocknee and the surrounding area.

The date is the first day a Thomas County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) ambulance will be housed at the Ochlocknee fire station for service to the area.

Currently, the station has one cross-trained firefighter responding to medical calls in the area where the ambulance will respond, said Thomas County Fire/Rescue Chief Chris Jones.

“They were providing first-responder service using a rescue unit,” Jones said.

First responders check blood pressure, blood sugar, administer oxygen and can initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation. An ambulance then responds, traveling from Thomasville.

The Ochlocknee-based ambulance will serve the following fire districts:

• Ochlocknee

• Meigs

• Barnetts Creek

• Half of the Lake Riverside district

“We’re going to increase our staff by one,” Jones said, after a Monday meeting of the Thomas County Commission emergency services committee.

A firefighter/paramedic will be added to current personnel that includes a firefighter and a firefighter/emergency medical technician.

“That will be the daily staffing,” Jones said, adding that the employees will be on duty during each shift.

“Instead of five trucks running daily, we will have six,” said EMS director Tom Coram.

In 2018, an ambulance will be located in Boston with staffing similar to Ochlocknee. Plans are for Coolidge to receive the vehicle and personnel in 2019, Coram said.

County commissioners want to make advance life support services available to all residents within five to seven minutes. An ambulance dispatched fro Thomasville requires 17 to 20 minutes to reach Meigs, Coram said.

An ambulance at the Ochlocknee fire station will be able to reach Meigs in eight minutes, Coram added.

Jones said the placement of ambulances and added personnel at outlying fire stations is a result of a recent study of Thomas County emergency medical services.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820