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Monday was a day of excitement for the members of the D.W. McMillan EMS team in Brewton.

Justin Cole, EMS Director, said the new unit will be a welcome addition to the fleet of vehicles for the ambulance crews.

“This is a 2020 model,” Cole said. “It is all new, state-of-the-art equipment on this unit and is even safer than before. We are glad to be able to add this to the fleet.”

The fleet currently consists of three ambulances and one van. One unit was retired as this unit was received, Cole said.

“We rotate the vehicles in an out for maintenance purposes,” Cole said. “That helps to prolong the life of the unit. By adding this vehicle, we now have the option to more into service when there is a need.”

One need that was recently seen was the flooding of Brewton and East Brewton.

“We had a crew and a unit stationed on the East Brewton side of Murder Creek during the flooding,” Cole said. “That gave us the ability to make sure people were taken care of if they needed us during that time.”

The ambulance crews answer as many as 2,500 calls per year with an average of seven calls per day, Cole said.

“That many calls put a lot of miles on the vehicles we use,” Cole said. “It was certainly time to upgrade the fleet.”

Cole said the crew answers calls all across Escambia County covering 650 square miles.

“We answer calls down to cover Hwy. 113 to the south and all the way to the Covington County line to the north,” Cole said. “We go from the state line all the way north to Conecuh County. We do several transfers to out-of-town medical facilities as well. That means we travel a lot of miles on a daily basis.”

Cole said crew members consist of paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians as well as Advance Emergency Medical Technicians. Crews also work 48-hour shifts putting in some tiring hours on the job.

“We will continue to work to build an effective healthcare network to serve all patients in Escambia County,” Cole said.