Travis County ESD No. 2 now operates a total of four ambulances in service and two in reserve, all staffed with the District’s own paramedics as envisioned in the District’s Strategic Plan.
Earlier this year, Travis County ESD No. 2 (Pflugerville Fire Dept.) started to operate its own ambulances for the first time. PFD’s bright red ambulances began responding to medical emergencies out of Fire Station 1 on E. Pecan St. in Pflugerville and Fire Station 2 in Wells Branch in January 2017. A third was kept in reserve for use when either of the ambulances was out of service, just like fire departments do with their fire trucks. The fleet has now reached planned levels, with Medic 231 and Medic 241 making their first runs on October 2, 2017, out of Fire Station 3 on Kelly Lane and Station 4 on Pflugerville Parkway, and another reserve unit added to the line.
TCESD2 residents who live outside of the City of Pflugerville and Wells Branch Library District helped make this level of service possible, by voting in 2013 to add ½-cent sales tax just in those areas. Since then, Pflugerville Fire Dept. has added Advance Life Support paramedics to some of its fire engines while working diligently to add ambulance service including the hiring of several paramedic firefighters. It is a dream come true for Fire Chief Ron Moellenberg, who led the charge to enhance the delivery of emergency medical care in a cost-effective manner.
“This is a direct result of voter support and our strategic planning process,” said Chief Moellenberg. “We created a plan because we saw a clear need in our rapidly growing community, with most of our 8,000 calls a year being medical calls.”
Travis County ESD No. 2 serves about 120,000 people across a sprawling 100-square-mile mix of suburban and rural property, encompassing an area twice as large as the City of Pflugerville. In recent years, ambulances were not immediately available in the district about 40% of the time.
“Because we truly care about those we serve, we are dedicated to enhancing services while also maintaining efficiency,” Chief Moellenberg said. “It will be a huge benefit to our community to have such a highly skilled workforce in emergency services.”