Haines Junction ambulances to be run by paid staff this summer

The Yukon government will pay six people to run the ambulance servicein Haines Junctionthis summer, instead of relying on volunteers.

In previous summers, the number of volunteers available has been low and that has resulted in weekends where there was no ambulance servicein the community, which is located on the AlaskaHighwaynearKluane National Park.

• RELATED:Haines Junction lacks volunteers for ambulance service

For the first time, the government plans to have six paid positions.

Jeff Simons, acting director of Yukon Emergency Medical Services, says the full-time summer jobs are a pilot project.

"We are committed to working with the community on this and we're hoping for a successful program," he said.

This week the Haines Junction village council unanimously accepted the proposal.Councillor Dave Weir says it's great news.

"As a pilot project, as something that hasn't been done before in the Yukon I would assume there will be some hiccups along the way and things that need to be learned and improved.

"My hope would be to see whatever those improvements and whatever that learning is take place in the fall so we can be one step better for 2016."

For now, the government says there are no plans beyond this summer season butSimonssays the success of the program will determine whether it will be continued in future years and in other communities.

The budget for the project has yet to be finalized, but it's expected to be around $130,000.