Buchanan County EMS broke ground Monday morning on the future home for its new headquarters.

“It’s for our new EMS facility for housing our ambulances, and our staff, educational space, administrative space, dispatch,” said Wally Patrick, EMS Dir.

Around 40 people were in attendances Monday morning for the ground breaking on the new facility that will be located at 5010 Frederick Ave. directly across from Meierhoffer Funeral Home.

“We needed something that was out on the east edge of town due to our population and growth in St. Joseph,” Patrick said. “We also needed access to the major thoroughfares such as 29 Highway and 36.”

Patrick said the facility will cost around $1.6 million and is estimated to be complete sometime in the beginning part of 2017.

“It started several years ago with the formation of (REMSA) Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, when it split from Heartland/Mosaic,” Patrick said. “When this went out to the public voters as an initiative so we could have county based EMS services at that time Mosaic let it be known that the facility where the ambulances were currently housed and the administrative staff for the ambulances were currently housed would be on their plan for demolition in the near future.”

The new facility will have space to house ambulances when not in service, a dispatch center, a FEMA storm shelter, crew quarters and an educational room.