F-M Ambulance Expands Its Reach, Establishes New Post in Glyndon

The new post will help lessen response times in the outer parts of Clay County

GLYNDON, Minn. — For many years, F–M Ambulance has had a partnership with several smaller fire departments in Clay County, including the all–volunteer force in Glyndon.

“We usually get there ahead of F–M Ambulance and provide initial care and medical treatment. At that point, we just wait for F–M to get there and once they arrive, they actually do the transport into Fargo into the hospitals,” said Nate Paulson, the EMS Chief for the Glyndon Fire Hall.

However, first responders don’t have to wait around much longer.

F–M Ambulance will have a fully staffed truck stationed outside the Glyndon Fire Hall to quickly assist in emergencies in rural Clay County.

The growing population in several communities was hard for them to ignore.

“We saw that the need was starting to increase with population growing out there, with new additions to the Glyndon area, to the Dilworth area, and Hawley especially, that increases our call volumes,” said Don Martin, the Communications Manager for F-M Ambulance.

Last year, 9–1–1 calls in Hawley, Glyndon, Ulen, Hitterdal, and Felton jumped from 490 to 563.

F–M Ambulance says that they are on track to receive around 500 calls from that area this year.

First responders say having a fully staffed ambulance will be helpful for smaller volunteer fire departments, especially when it comes to basic and advanced life support treatment.

“They usually have that basic BLS care until we arrive, but it’s better for the patient overall, the care and to have that ALS treatment there sooner,” said Martin.

Even though having a fully staffed ambulance will speed up emergency response times, it won’t slow down first responders from helping out.

“Depending on the situation, we will ride in the ambulance with them to the hospital if they need an extra hand or an extra couple sets of hands, so it’s still going to be us working together, but we’ll still go even if we’re not needed,” said Paulson.

The Glyndon post is in a three–month trial period.

F–M Ambulance will evaluate if the number of 9–1–1 calls matches the need for having a truck stationed in the area.

Martin says they have not ruled out moving the post to Hawley if more 9–1–1 calls are out that way.