Aging downtown London ambulance base getting much-needed overhaul

London’s core ambulance base is getting some much-needed upgrades, the first phase of an overhaul of the aging building snapped up by Middlesex County earlier this year.

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Renovations are expected to get underway this fall at the Middlesex-London Paramedic Service ambulance station at 340 Waterloo St., with a second round of upgrades to the ambulance bays and staff areas expected in the new year.

“It’s going to be a multi-phase project,” Chris Traini, Middlesex County engineer and deputy chief administrator, said.

“With any aging building, updates are needed to the core parts of the building. The bathrooms really needed an overhaul. It was an old firehall, so there were limited women’s bathrooms and no gender-neutral washrooms.”

Middlesex County bought the building at the corner of Waterloo and York streets in January, Traini said. The county knew from the start upgrades to the facility were long overdue.

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“We’ve been planning for quite some time to get this process started,” Traini said.

The first phase of the construction project will renovate the upper floor so it can be used by the Middlesex-London Paramedic Services’ community paramedicine program, an initiative where paramedics provide clinical assessment and treatment to patients in the community.

The project will also include much-needed upgrades to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems in the decades-old building.

Middlesex County council last month approved a $687,000 bid, excluding taxes, for the first phase of the construction project. Five contractors bid on the project.

The first phase of renovations should be finished by year’s end. The second phase of renovations is expected to begin next year, Traini said.

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“Phase 2 will involve improvements to the paramedics’ area, including the ambulance bays, paramedics’ kitchen and lounge areas,” Traini said.

“A team of paramedics will be providing input on what they would like to see in the station. This process will begin this fall.”

The Waterloo Street building was the former Middlesex-London Paramedic Service headquarters before it moved to its new location at 1035 Adelaide St. S. in 2018.

The Waterloo Street base is one of seven in the city and the only one in central London. The paramedic service has 14 ambulance stations in total, including locations in Strathroy, Komoka and Dorchester.

In 2023, the latest date data is available, Middlesex-London paramedics responded to about 80,000 calls. Ambulances at the Waterloo Street station responded to about 15,150 calls in 2023, making it the second-busiest base behind the Adelaide Street South station.

At a time when downtown land is in short supply, upgrading the Waterloo Street location so it can serve the core for years to come made sense, said Middlesex Warden Aina DeViet.

“It’s just really good news,” she said.

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