Genesee Valley Emergency Medical Services, a not for profit agency serving Caledonia-Mumford and surrounding areas, is looking for a suitable location to house their three vehicles, which includes two Caledonia Ambulances and a fly car (specially equipped emergency response vehicle). GVEMS responds to two calls a day on average in the Cal-Mum area and is a vital service in this community. GVEMS split from the Caledonia Fire Department and formed its own not for profit organization in October 2002. Through an agreement with CFD and the fire district, GVEMS kept all three of its vehicles housed in the Main Street, Caledonia fire hall. Now, the fire hall is over crowded and even larger fire equipment purchases are anticipated, making it critical that GVEMS find a suitable alternate location for their vehicles. The administrative office of GVEMS continues to operate on a $1 a year lease with the Town of Caledonia out of a second floor office in Tennent Hall, above the town offices. GVEMS committee members Mark Schroeder and Andy Klein say they appreciate the generosity from the both the fire department and the town thus far. GVEMS has formed a committee to look at securing a new home for their equipment. It could be an existing building or property where a new structure could be constructed. It could be a property that someone in the community is willing to donate or lease at a reasonable cost. Holding to their commitment in 2002 at the time of their incorporation, GVEMS intends to remain housed in the Town of Caledonia, say Schroeder and Klein. "Ideally, we’d like to find a location on a main street however, we don’t want to exclude any possibilities," Klein explained. "We just want to make our need known to the community." While GVEMS has not looked into specific costs, they have considered building a new structure to include three bays, an office/training room, and a sleeping/kitchen space. Still, they say if an existing structure became available, they’d welcome the opportunity to consider it. Schroeder and Klein say the FD is being very patient with the GVEMS vehicles in the fire hall, however they believe the "sooner the better" when it comes to securing a new location for the emergency medical service vehicles. If you have a location you’d like to discuss with GVEMS, please call either Mark Schroeder at 538-4021 or Andy Klein at 538-2781 and leave a message. Either of them will return your call.
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