TAMWORTH'S St John Ambulance service will have the ability to attend more medical emergencies thanks to the arrival of a brand-new emergency response vehicle.
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The eight-seat van will allow the Tamworth division to attend more events throughout the region and will also allow crews to attend two call outs simultaneously.
Worth more than $38,000, funding for the new vehicle came via a My Community Project grant, which Tamworth division superintendent Margret O'Connor said was "very welcome".
"This new van will be a tremendous help to all of us," Ms O'Connor said.
"It will be fully equipped with everything we need and will allow us to spread our services around a little bit further."
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Regularly attending public and sporting events, the Tamworth division has been pushing for the new vehicle during the past year.
"When I found out we had been successful, I was like a big kid who had just found the biggest lollipop ever," Ms O'Connor said.
"Every thing like this certainly helps us with what we do and we are very grateful for this funding."
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said the division's impact on the Tamworth region should not be understated.
"The St John Ambulance volunteers do a great job each year at events like the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival and when you stumble, they are there to get you back on your feet again," Mr Anderson said.
"Tamworth and surrounding areas will benefit from this new vehicle, as there will be a visible first aid presence at local events - meaning a much safer community.
"St John Ambulance are a volunteer-driven organisation and they do a fantastic job for our community and I thank them for their continued service."
A 38-year veteran of the service, Ms O'Connor said the serving the community was a highlight of the job.
"All of us are volunteers and we do go right across the region to places such as Bingara, Barraba, Manilla and Armidale," she said.
"There's a lot of travel involved and a new eight-seat van like this will make it a lot easier for us to transport our members around."
During the recent bushfire crisis, several members of the Tamworth division volunteered their time to help crews battling the fires.
"The fires are just another example of how wide ranging this job can be," Ms O'Connor said.
"There's a lot of variety and for anyone interested in joining our division, we will be holding a recruitment day soon and this new van will play a key role in the transport of our cadets."