Mo. officials weigh ending FD ambulance service in $18M fire department overhaul

By Ethan Colbert

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — St. Charles is considering a sweeping $18 million overhaul of its fire department that would add more firefighters and build new fire stations in an effort to boost response times citywide.

Officials here are also debating whether to discontinue the St. Charles Fire Department’s ambulance service and move ambulance personnel into firefighting roles. Department employees are trained to do both.

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The St. Charles County Ambulance District, a separate entity, already has two ambulances in the city and would add more to cover the city of 72,000 residents, if the plan is approved by the St. Charles City Council. Ambulance response times wouldn’t be affected, said