ROANOKE, Va.- – Every second counts in an emergency and one community is working to get victims quicker.
Roanoke Fire and EMS is adding a new medic truck to be at station 13 on Appleton Avenue. It will help address the more than 24,000 calls they get every year.
Before this year, they had to rely on trucks at other fire stations in the city and sometimes the county.
Medic 13, which will arrive in a few weeks Medic 13 will help first responders get to calls quicker.
"It is a great enhancement to the upper end of the Northwest community. Hershberger Road, Peters Creek Road, Cove Road area, where we were traditionally looking at that eight minute travel time. We'll be able to close it down to four-five minutes travel time," said Chief David Hoback.
Chief David Hoback says in the last five years there's been an increase in EMS calls.
"We do have a growth in age community. We obviously have the opioid issues. We start to see that increase," said Hoback.
With Media 13 set to arrive soon, the department hired six new firefighters to staff the new ambulance.
"What this truck in service, it gives us is nine 24-hour ambulances and then it gives us also to two 12-hour ambulances that are staffed based on peak demand," said Hoback.