JOACHIM-PLATTIN AMBULANCE DISTRICT

By: Bill Haggard

The Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District was formed by a vote of the residents of the Joachim and Plattin Townships in June 1975 serving the municipalities of Pevely, Herculaneum, Crystal City, Festus and the R-7 area. The first elected Board of Directors for the district was Thomas Robart, Lloyd Theusen, Philip Rokicki, William Walker, Katherine Derque and Kenneth Wilkey. For the next several months, the board met on an almost weekly basis to get everything in the place to start the ambulance district.

Mr. Gene Butler, a retired sergeant from the Missouri Highway Patrol, was hired in August 1975 as the first district administrator. The district started with six full-time employees – David McFarland, John LeBoube, Mike Schrage, Charles Cayce, Keith DeClue and Glen Visnovske.

The Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District began operations on September 22, 1975, from a rented garage located at 301 North Mill Street in Festus, Missouri. At that time, the district had one ambulance and an on-call backup crew that supported the six full-time employees. In November of 1977, Gene Butler retired and David McFarland was appointed as the District Administrator and would serve in that position for the next 20 years.

In 1979, the district bought property on Collins Avenue in Festus for future expansion. In 1981, the district moved its operations to a new facility at 619 Collins Avenue. This facility continues to serve the district as House #1. In 1981, the district added two additional personnel and started running a non-urgent ambulance service. In 1990, as the district continued to grow and call volume increased, the district hired three additional personnel. The hiring of the additional personnel allowed the district to have two ambulances on duty around-the-clock.

In 1997, the district opened House #2 at 1281 Abbey Lane in Pevely and moved an ambulance from House #1 to cover the area of Pevely, Herculaneum and Horine. In September of 1997, Dave McFarland stepped down as administrator and Curt Stueve was appointed to that position and currently holds that position.

In 2002, property was purchased in the R-7 area on Highway 61 for future expansion and coverage of the southern areas of the district. In June of 2002, three additional personnel were hired giving the district three ambulances on duty around-the-clock.

In July of 2004, the district opened House #3 at 2410 Highway 61 and hired three additional personnel allowing for four ambulances to be on duty at all times. Also in 2004, the district purchased a home in Olympian Village to be used as House #4 and to provide coverage to the southwestern part of the district. In the same year, the district purchased three acres off of Plass Road in the Mapaville area.

In September of 2008, the district entered into an agreement with the Mapaville Fire Protection District to build a joint facility at the Plass Road location. In January of 2009, construction began on the joint facility and is scheduled to be completed in August of 2011.

In September of 2009, the district purchased an existing building at 1235 North Truman Boulevard in Crystal City and began the renovation of the property to serve as the new administrative offices and House #6. In November of 2010, the district hired three additional employees and opened House #4 in Olympian Village on a full-time basis.

In March of 2011, the district moved their administrative office from the Collins Avenue House #1 facility to the new location at 1235 North Truman Boulevard. In August of 2011, the district will begin operations from Station #6 at the North Truman location.

The Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District employs 30 full-time paramedics and three full-time administrative staff.