Iola plans to go it alone.
City council members gave their full-throated support Monday night to protecting the jobs of Iola firefighters by creating a stand-alone ambulance service within city limits. The decision comes in response to Allen County commissioners ending a contract with Iola for EMS.
The decision returns to a system used from 2009 to 2013, which was criticized for its duplication of services — two ambulance barns were three blocks from each other — as well as saddling Iola residents with the costs of supporting two ambulance services, the city’s and the county’s.