New Wheels for Wyoming EMS: City and County Chip In for Ambulance Upgrades

Two new ambulances are on the way for Wyoming Regional EMS, thanks to a new deal that brings Sheridan city and county officials together with one shared goal: keeping emergency response rolling smoothly across Sheridan County.

Here’s the bottom line — WREMS said it needed to replace two aging ambulances within the next couple of years. Now it’ll get them, with some help.

As part of an updated agreement, the city will hand over its current ambulance to WREMS and toss in $50,000 in cash. Sheridan County will kick in $200,000 toward buying a second new ambulance. Altogether, that’s $250,000 headed to WREMS, plus the value of the existing city ambulance.

The Sheridan County Commission gave the deal a thumbs-up back on June 17. City Council followed suit at its Monday night meeting. Under the agreement, the money — and the ambulance — will need to be in place by August 31, 2026.

Wyoming Regional EMS has been the county’s primary emergency medical provider since November 2022, keeping three ambulances staffed and ready to go. Sheridan Fire-Rescue has quietly backed them up with a fourth ambulance since then — but not for much longer.

With this new setup, SFR will hand over its 2022 Horton ambulance to WREMS. That vehicle’s worth about $200,000, but the city says it’ll save around $50,000 over the next two years by no longer staffing or maintaining it. That brings the total value of the city’s contribution to about $200,000 — matching the county’s.

City Attorney Brad Thimmesch said the city’s move makes sense financially and logistically.

“The ambulance goes to WREMS, they handle the calls, and we no longer have to keep a fourth unit in standby mode,” he said.

Sheridan Fire-Rescue has been on call with its backup ambulance, but it’s rarely used. Since Jan. 1, it’s only been officially called out four times — and not once since Jan. 24.

“We’ve been seeing better dispatch categorization, which helps streamline the system,” said SFR Division Chief Chad Brutlag. “That way, we’re not jumping into action with the backup unless it’s really needed.”

When all three WREMS units are tied up, the organization has typically been able to quickly free one up or call in additional help, Brutlag added.

The city and county have also told WREMS to come up with a clear vehicle replacement plan moving forward. That way, when future requests roll in for new ambulances or funding, nobody’s caught off guard.

“They’re required to provide a plan,” Thimmesch said. “We want to be ready next time — not reacting in the eleventh hour.”

The original story by Joseph Beaudet for the Sheridan Press.