The Kenton Fire District's ambulance hasn't left the garage since late June.
It isn't broken. The department simply can't afford to pay the two qualified emergency medical technicians required by state law to deploy it. Until the Morning View-based fire department finds either more money or EMTs willing to work on a strictly volunteer basis, fellow fire departments from Independence, Fiskburg and Ryland Heights -- each at least 15 minutes away -- will take over ambulance duties.
"Everybody's got mixed emotions," former Kenton County firefighter Rob Cheeseman said Thursday. "I mean, the community's really worried. The people that don't know anything about the fire service don't know what to do. They're scared."
Independence fire Chief Scott Breeze said the problem comes from the Kenton Fire District lacking a "robust tax base" that could pay for part-time EMTs to run the ambulance.