Village authorizes $21,000 for new ambulance device

    The Fredonia Village Board has approved spending more than $21,000 for an attachment to an ambulance that will help load heavy persons.

    The board had budgeted $16,000 for the Powerload system in its 2019 budget. The system will be paid for from ambulance fees.

    The system will be able to lift a cot up and into or out of the ambulance without medical crews having to lift the cot and risking injury.

    The system enables a single person to load someone weighing up to 600 pounds into the ambulance, Fire Chief Brian Weyker said.

    It also provides added rollover protection inside the ambulance, Weyker told trustees.