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Kenton Fire District parks only ambulance due to money problems

272 views · Published 18 September 2018 · 2:34 · Indexed 24 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2018 · News & Politics

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MORNING VIEW, Ky. (WKRC) - A local fire department is so tight for money, it has decided to park its only ambulance. 

It's good to go, but the Kenton Fire District Rescue Squad is parked and going nowhere. For now, other departments are picking up the slack, but no one's sure what the future holds.

"The bottom line -- we just do not take in enough money to fund our ambulance 24/7," said KFD board chairman, Don Kaiser.

And if you can't staff it around-the-clock, the state of Kentucky says you can't run it. The squad made about 160 runs in a typical year. Those calls are now being picked up departments in Ryland, Piner and Independence, so service is still there, but it has had an impact on response time.

"We're still running about eight to 11 minutes on response time, so we're not terribly off, but it is two or three minutes more than it used to be," said Kaiser.

Not long after Kenton created the fire district in the early '50s, they proudly displayed their first rescue squad. But times have changed. Increasing state requirements and a stagnant tax base forced a tough decision.

"I really don't see how we could ever get the squad back out again," said Kaiser.

The ambulance was parked 90 days ago. On Wednesday, they sent out a notice to residents on the department's Facebook page.

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