Richard Kinser, president of the North Fork Ambulance Association, said that the finishing touches on two new ambulances are being made, and he expects the rigs to roll into Paonia by as early as next week.

The ambulances were ordered just days after the fire.

Work on the ambulance barn on Second Street is about halfway complete, he said. The work remaining to be done includes installing new doors, sheetrock and finish work.

It will take nearly $270,000 to replace and fix the things lost in the fire. The two new ambulances cost $160,000, the majority of which Kinser expects will be covered by insurance. Repairs on the building are expected to cost $110,000, which is being offset by several pretty sizable donations, he said.

The NFAA is still accepting donations to help cover the expense of repairing the building and for any unseen costs that will pop up. Donations can be mailed to North Fork Ambulance Association, P.O. Box 127, Hotchkiss, CO 81419, or given to Paonia State Bank or Crawford Country Bank.

Until the building is complete, the NFAA is borrowing space at the Paonia Fire Department. The association is using a backup ambulance from Hotchkiss and a loaner rig from the Delta-Montrose Technical College to serve the community until the new rigs are ready.

“We’re still providing service,” Kinser said. “We’ve been able to do that from the get-go. We’re anxiously awaiting the finishing of the project.”

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