Area Ambulance Service, based at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, provides ambulance service to the City of Marion and to most of Marion Fire Department’s township response area. In these areas, both Marion Fire Department and Area Ambulance Service will respond to a medical emergency. Marion Fire will perform initial stabilization and Area Ambulance will transport the patient to the hospital.

Since Area Ambulance Service also provides ambulance coverage for all of the greater Cedar Rapids metro area, there are rare occasions where an ambulance is not available for a medical emergency in Marion. To fill this gap, the Marion Fire Department and Area Ambulance Service have entered into a unique partnership. Area Ambulances has contracted with the City of Marion to house and staff one of their ambulances at Marion Fire Department. Currently located at Station 1, the ambulance is used when there is a medical emergency in the City of Marion or Marion Township and no ambulance is available. A Marion Fire Department paramedic will care for the patient throughout their transport to the hospital.

This program was instituted in July 1999. Since then, the Marion Ambulance has been used, on average, about 2.5 times per month.