SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — An ambulance shortage is hitting fire crews in Skagit County.
New aid cars are more than a year overdue, the wear and tear are taking a toll, and it could not come at a worse time for one local department.
Sedro-Woolley firefighters spend a lot of their time making sure their equipment is ready when duty calls. And duty calls a lot.
One ambulance has 97,000 miles on it.
That's about 30,000 more than Chief Frank Wagner would like.
"They get a lot of hard use, a lot of stop and go," Wagner said. "It's 1:00 in the morning, cold starts and you're going priority 20 miles up the road."
The department needs two new trucks and ordered them in November 2021. They still have not arrived 15 months later.
Wagner said they may not be available for another year.
"It's kind of like having a Christmas present on Christmas morning and you don't get to use it because you don't have batteries for a year," Wagner said.
The issue is due to a chassis shortage for the trucks. Wagner said it's nationwide problem right now.
"Fire departments, police departments all over are having a tough time," Wagner said. "You can't just run down to the local lot and grab one or rent one because they're just not available."
The shortage comes as Sedro-Woolley Fire is the busiest it's been in its more than 100-year history.
Crews fielded 3,600 calls last year with an aging fleet struggling to keep up.
December was the busiest month on record for the department with 375 calls -- more than a dozen a day -- a number previously unheard of.
"When I started here 29 years ago we were lucky to get one call per day," Wagner said.
The department's backup ambulance has nearly 160,000 miles on it. leaving little margin for error.
"If one or two of them break down or get in an accident, worst case you'd be in pretty dire straits," Wagner said.
Sedro-Woolley is now having to spend even more money on maintenance to keep the fleet intact.
One rig alone cost the department more than $16,000 last year.
At this point, all the department can do is wait. The public, however, cannot.
"When they call 911 we have to show up," Wagner said. "We have to make it happen and do what's right for the community."