City Ambulance delays appearance before Port Arthur City Council
Published 8:10 pm Tuesday, September 11, 2018
By Ken Stickney
A Harris County-based emergency medical services company, expected to seek permission Tuesday to operate an ambulance service in Port Arthur, has delayed by two weeks its appearance before the City Council to make that request.
Viking Enterprises, doing business as City Ambulance Service, asked to delay its appearance at City Hall until the next City Council meeting, which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 25.
Acadian Ambulance Service, the sole EMS provider in the city, had scheduled a presentation before the council at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night, before City Ambulance was to speak during time allotted for the “non-consent” portion of the meeting.
Acadian made a brief presentation updating company progress and its community service and made no mention of the potential business rival.
But Brandon Hebert, director of operations for Acadian in Port Arthur, said Monday that the company believes having a sole ambulance provider in the city provides central oversight for ambulance service and best ensures that the closest provider is sent to every emergency.
Viking Enterprises was named in a 2017 lawsuit by a rival company in Harris County, Republic EMS, that contends that City Ambulance vandalized Republic’s ambulances and attached “illegal tracking devices” to them.
A City Ambulance spokesman said that lawsuit has failed to progress in the court system. An attorney for the plaintiffs said he expects the case will come to trial.
