With patient transport times to area hospitals taking anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes, having a reliable ambulance is crucial for the Kansasville Fire and Rescue Department. And for the first time since it began providing ambulance service in 2007, the department is in the training process so it can utilize its first new ambulance. The new ambulance was purchased after three years of looking for a vehicle to replace its 1997 ambulance, which previously served another department. Due to recent mechanical failures with that vehicle, the department decided to acquire the new rig. The new ambulance was purchased in late July. “It’s a bigger vehicle, to begin with, than what we had before,” Kansasville Fire Chief Scott Remer said. “It was time to get our new ambulance.” The 1997 ambulance was sold with 100,000 miles on it. The new rig, which cost $204,000 and had been a dealer demonstration model, has 5,000 miles on it. “This is a demo vehicle, so we were able to save significant dollars,” Remer said. Remer said training is underway with hopes of having the vehicle responding to calls by the end of August.