Ambulance company has permit revoked by village

The operating permit of a private ambulance service company has been revoked by the Village of Grafton after it failed to adhere to municipal fire codes for four years.

To operate in Grafton, LifeStar will now have to seek village permission once again after either resolving its violations or find a new location that adheres to code standards.   

The Grafton Fire Department first discovered violations in LifeStar’s current location, which has beds for crew members, a kitchen and lounge space, in October 2017. Violations included inadequate firewalls, missing fire doors and no egress or exit lighting in the space.

After four years, a fire that filled the building with smoke and numerous requests from the village to resolve violations, no action has been taken to correct the issues.

Assistant Fire Chief Matthew Karpinski said LifeStar had never responded to the village’s request to come into compliance.

The Village Plan Commission first considered revoking the permit during a Sept. 28 meeting which LifeStar owner Mike Krueger attended. Krueger requested one more month to bring his firm into compliance, which the commission allowed as long as significant improvements were made.

But one month later, at the Oct. 26 Plan Commission meeting, village officials said it was clear no progress had been made.

Community Development Director Jessica Wolf said the village had not received any communication from LifeStar since the Sept. 28 meeting.

Wolff said she called Krueger before the meeting and was told he was still working with his consultant on the violations. She said Krueger offered two alternatives to the village to avoid having the permit revoked.

The alternatives were to remove sleeping quarters from the space and to reduce operating hours so there would not be an overnight shift.

Wolff said having employees sleeping in the space is one of the main issues relating to the violations.

According to a fire department letter, the LifeStar occupant space was once filled with smoke during a fire at Dickmann Manufacturing, which shares a wall with the space at 600 Beech St. While no crew members were sleeping at that time, Karpinski stated the fire could have posed a serious risk to building occupants.

Karpinski said that even if LifeStar employees could not sleep in the space, it would still be considered a residential unit and the code violations need to be resolved.

Wolff said that the proposed solutions do not appear to address the violations, particularly given LifeStar’s lack of communication with the village.

“Due to the lack of response from the owner at this time, we’re not confident simply reducing the hours will address concerns,” she said.

Village President Jim Brunnquell said it was made clear during the September meeting that significant improvements needed to be made and that no changes have been made. He added that the solutions offered by Krueger do not remedy the violations.

“It seems like what they’re suggesting still does not bring them into compliance,” he said.

The Plan Commission unanimously revoked LifeStar’s licence.

LifeStar is a state-licensed ambulance service based in West Bend with four locations throughout Wisconsin, one of which is in Grafton. The Grafton operation is made up of one ambulance and two emergency management service personnel who provide ambulance service to institutional clientele such as hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.

The conditional-use permit, approved on March 25, 2014, allowed LifeStar to operate out of the location 24 hours a day, seven days a week.