Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical introduced ambulance service Wednesday in Eudora. Celebrating the roll out with a photograph were, from left, Eudora Assistant Fire Chief Nathan Stoermer, Fire Medical Lt. Nick Simon, Eudora firefighter Brandon Mitchell, Eudora firefighter Peter Latta, Eudora firefighter Jake Long, Fire Medical paramedic Tiffany Saturday and Eudora Fire Chief Ken Keiter.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Lt. Nick Simon was far from busy on Wednesday, the inaugural day for ambulance service in Eudora. He had been on duty about nine hours at the Eudora Public Safety Building and had not yet left on a call.

“I expect we’ll be busy soon,” Simon said. “Eudora’s good for two or three calls a day.”

The actual number was 1.7 calls per day, Eudora Fire Chief Ken Keiter said.

He should know. Keiter collected such data over the last three years as the city of Eudora requested that the Douglas County Commission expand ambulance service in the growing eastern Douglas County community and the eastern part of the county.

The work of Keiter, the Eudora City Commission and city staff paid off last July when the County Commission agreed to introduce a fully staffed ambulance service in Eudora and include a new ambulance and needed equipment for the expansion in the county’s 2017 budget.

Thanks to years of planning and the availability of the spacious 3 1/2-year-old Public Safety Building to house the ambulance and its rotating crews, the introduction of the service went smoothly, Keiter said. The service’s rollout was delayed by only a month to give the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical time to hire and train a new crew.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Chief Mark Bradford said the new ambulance that will be permanently stationed in Eudora won’t be delivered until mid-summer, but Keiter was more than happy with the reserve ambulance that was provided to serve the city in the meantime.

“I don’t care that it’s not brand new as long as it’s here and fully staffed,” he said. “The community has anticipated this day for a long time.”

There will be a ceremony for the new service at 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Eudora Public Safety Building, 930 Main St. Eudora City and Douglas County commissioners, Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Chief Ken Bradford and Keiter will be in attendance.