This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Embattled Dixie Ambulance, an emergency medical services fixture in the St. George-area for more than three decades, has announced it will close down beginning this Sunday.
The Spectrum newspaper reported Wednesday that the company — told last month that it would be losing its exclusive license to handle 911 calls in St. George after a long, bitter dispute with out-of-town rival Gold Cross Ambulance — had notified the Utah Bureau of Emergency Medical Services by letter that it will cease operations effective 7 a.m. Sunday.
BEMS Director Paul Patrick Gold Cross and other providers in the area would be given temporary licenses to cover any losses in ambulance service created by Dixie Ambulance's exit.
Gold Cross already had state permission to begin long-term operations as of May 1.
"The public will not go one minute without somebody providing ambulance and paramedic services to them," Patrick told The Spectrum.
The letter was signed by Dixie Ambulance President Tony Randall and Vice President Mike Miller.
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