Map details expanded service area for Clear Lake ambulance crews

Residents along and north of South Shore Drive, as well as those on Tanglefoot, now have ambulance service provided bythe Clear Lake Fire Department.
After months of debate, City Councils from Clear Lake and Mason City recently approved an Ambulance Service Coverage Agreement with Cerro Gordo County. The new plan shifted responsibility for ambulance service from the Mason City Fire Department to Clear Lake's unit. Although the new agreement had an Aug. 1 start date, a map detailing the coverage area was not available until now.
Tom Drzycimski, administrative officer for Cerro Gordo County's Planning and Zoning, explained the process of transferring the ambulance service between entities is more complex than the public realizes. Once officials identify the coverage area, work must be done to update computer data files dispatchers use. That data is then sent to an out-of-state firm for preparation.
Seven hundred and twenty residential and commercial addresses were affected by the new ambulance service agreement.
Drzycimski said while additional areas on the south side of Clear Lake may be considered for service by Clear Lake's ambulance, officials have decided to see how the new agreement works before expanding it any further into unincorporated areas of the county.
"They (city and county leaders) may go back and look at the issue again in six moths to a year. They didn't set anything formal," said Drzycimski.
Clear Lake Fire Chief Doug Meyers said his department is able to provide ambulance service to the south shore area without additional personnel or equipment.