By DEBORAH GERTZ HUSAR

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

PITTSFIELD, Ill. -- The Pike County Board's public safety committee continues to work toward finding a permanent home for the ambulance service.

In the meantime, the crew's located across the street from the ambulances -- all in space owned by Illini Community Hospital.

Committee Chairman Cleve Curry has pushed the committee, and the full board last week, to move forward on a building purchase, so far without success.

"We would have control of our own building. We wouldn't have to worry about when we're asked to leave," Curry said. "We could save the rent we're paying for the house, $6,000 per year, paid monthly."

The committee has reviewed several possible sites and toured one, the former Burrows building across from the old Brown Shoe site, more than once. "It could be made to be very adequate for our needs," Curry said.

Finance committee chairman Jim Sheppard said the ambulance service has the funds available to buy the building and possibly cover remodeling work.

"It's got office space, bays for the ambulances, a living area upstairs. There would be some modifications done to some stairways, and I'm sure some other modifications," Sheppard said. "Once the purchase is done, the remodeling is more of a minor expense."

The building offers other advantages, Sheppard said, including quick access to the interstate and a central location in an area that's not completely residential.

The county has looked at other possibilities including buying a modular home.

"We could put a three-car garage on it, if it was the right empty lot, and the house could be set up the way we want it," Sheppard said.

Acting Ambulance Administrator Sheriff Paul Petty said the county has a $50,000 state grant, hopefully through March, to put toward a potential ambulance building site and has submitted paperwork for additional funding through the federal economic stimulus package with an eye toward a larger emergency response project.

"The grant money that we've requested would fund the ambulance portion of a project," Petty said.

"Even if there is money to fund only the ambulance, there will be potential with add-ons for a later date to move toward a regional type response center to include fire, EMS, potentially police and ESDA -- any and all emergency services in a unified building, a regional response building."

Conditions improved for the ambulance crew in 2007 with a move from a large open garage housing the ambulances at the hospital to a house across the street owned by Illini. In the makeshift quarters in the garage, "the fumes were pretty strong. They didn't have adequate bedroom space," Curry said.

"It's a much better situation than it was," Petty said. "It's working out a lot better, but we still need to address a more unified and regional center for our emergency services."

-- dhusar@whig.com/221-3379