The Troy Fire Department recently received a grant for more than $136,000 for the purchase of a box-type vehicle to be used on emergency medical service calls.

At the most recent Troy City Council meeting, Troy Fire Chief Thomas Outlaw announced that the fire department had received a federal grant for $136,364, which will cover 90 percent of the purchase of an ambulance-like vehicle.

“If you’re familiar with Montgomery, some of the paramedics up there ride the same sort of vehicle that this will be,” Outlaw said.

The city has agreed to fund the remaining cost of the vehicle.

“The federal part, which is 90 percent, is $136,364 and the City of Troy will match $13,636 for the other 10 percent,” Outlaw said.

While the vehicle likely won’t be purchased until early next year, Outlaw said the vehicle will allow for safety nets and provide a back up for the current ambulance services should one be needed.

“We run EMS, and it just gives a safety net back up for the ambulance services,” Outlaw said. “We work a lot of special events that the city sponsors such as baseball tournaments and different things where we go and they’re required to have somebody standby. It gives a little bit of extra back up for the city in the case of some type of catastrophic event with the number of students we have and the size of the city.”

Outlaw said Troy was one of the few cities and departments not already utilizing EMS services through its fire department, and this new vehicle will provide options.

“They will make responses just like they do now,” Outlaw said. “For some of those responses, they’ll probably use this new vehicle instead of using the bigger trucks.”

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said the grant would be important not only to first responders but also to the community as a whole.

“This grant will be important to the community as well as enhance public safety in Troy,” Reeves said. “It will augment our emergency medical response program and also provide much needed support in the event of a disaster.”