Falls City’s council members and mayor are working on upgrading city emergency services.

During their regular May 9 meeting, they voted to reimburse EMS first responders $25 for every run they make, which Mayor Vi Malone said was a critical step in restoring the service.

"We have lost our first responders, so we’re trying to get that program started back up again," she said. "We have a lot of elderly people here in town and if one of them gets hurt or injured … we need someone to come in, assess the situation, and get them taken care of until EMS can get here."

The city currently is looking for volunteers to help staff the program. A free 60-hour course will be offered and interested volunteers should contact the city by June 10 to sign up.

During the same meeting, council members also discussed a new flood evacuation route in town. During the 1998 and 2002 floods, a section of town near the railroad tracks was dangerously close to being landlocked, and Malone said she wouldn’t want that area to be cut off during a flood.

The solution proposed is to obtain a right of way and extend East Meyer Street across the railroad.

"During the ’02 and ’98 flood, the road next to the river bridge was flooded, the road from the other side was close to being flooded, (and) the road going toward Cestohowa was flooded," Malone said. "Anybody that lives in that little area behind the railroad tracks could’ve been landlocked."

The city currently is working with a property owner to purchase the land necessary to extend East Meyer Street.