PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
EMERGENCY SERVICES … Fire Chief Doug Pool announced the MOU between the City of Bryan Fire and Williams County EMS. Within this agreement, firefighters will be able to respond to events in the City of Bryan and transport patients via a county ambulance.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
brenna@thevillagereporter.com
The Bryan City Council met to approve the use of a Williams County ambulance for the City of Bryan Fire Department at their July 20, 2026, meeting.
Council President John Betts, Mary Leatherman, Richard Hupe, Stephen Alspaugh, and Jim Kozumplik were in attendance. Mayor Carrie Schlade and City Clerk Treasurer John Lehner were also present.
AMBULANCE PARTNERSHIP
The Bryan Fire Department and Williams County Emergency Medical Service (WCEMS) are moving forward with a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a partnership allowing Bryan firefighters to provide ambulance transports using a WCEMS-owned ambulance.
“This is the final cleanup of our temporary pilot that we started a little over a year ago. I think we have worked out a lot of the kinks, and tried to get some things put into the language that will allow us to continue to operate in this cooperative manner,” Fire Chief Doug Pool said.
Under the agreement, WCEMS will provide the ambulance and remain responsible for all vehicle maintenance costs.
The memorandum also states that the arrangement will be reevaluated annually and can be terminated by either party with 30 days’ written notice.
Bryan firefighters will provide basic life support transport within the Bryan Fire District, excluding Hillside Country Living, when requested by WCEMS and when personnel are available.
The department will also handle non-emergency transports to extended care facilities in the Bryan area. Bryan firefighters will continue responding as first responders to all medical calls.
WCEMS will continue stocking the ambulance with disposable medical supplies, while Bryan Fire may equip the vehicle with larger equipment, such as a cardiac monitor, stair chair, and suction unit, if the department chooses.
“The beginning of the year we bought the A&D heart monitor… a piece of equipment. We have some other things that we owned prior…,” Pool explained. “If they are (WCEMS) providing it, it’s their equipment; they are maintaining it.”
The Williams County EMS Service will reimburse the City of Bryan $35 each time a patient is transported.
One of the main benefits of the agreement is reducing response times for Bryan residents needing transport to the hospital.
Rather than waiting for a county ambulance to arrive, Bryan firefighters will be able to transport patients within minutes when the personnel are available.
Chief Pool also explained that their crew will have a “basic” level of training. “We have EMT-basics, so we are providing a BLS service, as opposed to an advanced life safety.
“Primarily you are looking at paramedic level, which gives you a lot more medical treatments that can be done on the field. It’s still good, reliable, and most of the medic units throughout the county are staffed by EMT-basics.
“In the case of basics, we have a list of about six drugs that we can administer,” Chief Pool continued. “The paramedics have a lot more available to them – including narcotics and pain relievers, things that we cannot do or carry for a licensing issue.”
“A lot of the goal was to make sure we are taking care of the citizens within our fire district too,” stated Mayor Schlade.
“When we send first responders and they have to wait for an ambulance and can’t help them more than the basic EMT level, that’s difficult not just for the families but for our firemen.”
PUBLIC CONCERNS
During the hearing of public concerns, Bryan resident Steve Cox spoke to the Council to discuss the recent chip and seal completion of Huntington Drive.
Cox thanked the Council for the completion of the project, noting that it was done efficiently.
The project was originally completed last year at residents’ request, but because it was finished late in the season, the material did not adhere to the roadway. It was redone and completed by the time of the July 20, 2026, meeting.
“The County Engineer’s Office did repave Huntington Drive, in Eastland Estates. It was a very, very clean operation,” Cox said.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council accepted an ordinance approving annual appropriations for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026.
The appropriations consisted of new money, including donations, insurance reimbursements, and grants for the police and fire departments.
City Engineer Brian Wieland proposed a motion to officially advertise for bids for the 2026 South Walnut Area Sanitary Sewer Improvements project.
The project was budgeted within the 2026 budget, and the amount is estimated to be around $350,000.
The project consists of a sewer replacement in the alley between South Main and South Walnut Streets, from High Street to Maple. It consists of two blocks worth of work total and 56 taps.
In other business, Council accepted a $160,000 building permit for a storage unit on Union Street, and waived a local hearing for the liquor permit transfer for the new owners of Jackie Blu’s.
An executive session to discuss employee compensation was entered at 6:01 p.m. with no action taken.
