The East Cleveland Fire Department was without an ambulance Monday morning, and asked residents to call 911 only if they had a true emergency.
According to the East Cleveland Firefighters IAFF Local 500 Facebook page, the ambulance was donated and stopped working after three days of operation.
The original Facebook post on Monday morning indicated that there was only one ambulance available and asked residents to only call 911 if absolutely necessary.
"It was in operation for less than 3 days," the Facebook post said. "So, please do not call 911 unless you have a true medical emergency that REQUIRES an ambulance transport. We are currently relying on mutual aid ambulances from the surrounding communities, and they must be utilized for serious medical calls only."
This is one of several setback that has troubled the cash-strapped city since declaring a fiscal emergency in 2012.
Oakwood village donated an ambulance on Monday afternoon.
According to Mayor Gary Norton Jr., one East Cleveland ambulance was being serviced and was back in use by 4:30 p.m. The department's newest ambulance, which was a 2015 model is currently being repaired by the manufacturer due to vehicle power malfunction. They expect the ambulance to be back in service by Tuesday along with an ambulance that was donated by Mayfield Heights that was in repair also.
