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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - No ambulance with lives on the line.

Our WSAZ Investigation found that has been a growing reality and concern in Wayne County. However, news comes this week of a possible short-term solution.

Wayne County Commissioner Robert Thompson told WSAZ the county plans to use money from an opioid settlement to buy three new ambulances and hopes to have the vehicles on the road this summer.

“Once we get it up functioning, get them on the road, the goal -- they’re going to be 24/7, 365 days a year,” he told WSAZ. “The goal with that is to you know, as we’ve talked about before, to relieve the pressure on our Volunteer Fire Department EMS agencies.”

That development came months after WSAZ first introduced you to Melissa Foster’s family. They were left reeling last year after their call for help was met with the answer -- no ambulance available from the nearest station.

An ambulance eventually arrived from another station, but Melissa died at the home. Her husband and sister told WSAZ about their family’s heartache.

“I mean, I know people say, ‘When it’s your time to die, it’s your time to die,’ but God blesses us with doctors and EMS squads to help us, and they wasn’t there to help us,” Megan Neal said.

Melissa’s family isn’t alone.

Just last month, Wayne County 911 logs show no immediate ambulance was available for a call on Old Camp Creek Road. That call was for a 17-year-old boy who passed out while moving furniture.

The nearest ambulance station was just a half mile away, but its members did not answer the call. Instead, an ambulance came from a different station 10 miles away.

The 17-year-old boy was taken to the hospital but did not survive.

It’s a devastating reality WSAZ has been digging into for months.

Our investigation found ambulances in Wayne County come from volunteer fire departments that are not staffed 24/7.

According to state law, it is the duty of county commissions to provide emergency ambulance service.

In December, WSAZ asked Wayne County Commission President Jeff Maddox for his solution.

“There is no immediate resolution to the problems that we’re having right now,” he replied.

A week after WSAZ’s story aired, progress came at a county commission meeting.

“I think that we will roll out a plan for this in the next 30 days,” Maddox told WSAZ on Jan. 25.

Days before that deadline, commissioners placed an EMS levy on the May ballot. A yes vote would increase property taxes to provide money for a countywide EMS service that would be staffed around the clock.

But that is a long-term solution. If approved, the money wouldn’t start rolling in until summer 2025.

So, WSAZ wanted to find out what’s being done to save lives now.

Commissioner Robert Thompson said, along with buying the ambulances, the county also looks to use opioid settlement dollars to staff the vehicles early on, but he stressed the settlement is just a short-term solution and emphasized the importance of voters approving the levy in May.

“Why is the levy still so important?” WSAZ NewsChannel 3′s Curtis Johnson asked.

“It’s crucial,” he replied. “Thanks to your coverage and the news coverage, the attention being brought to this, I think the people understand how desperately needed improved ambulance service is in Wayne County.”

“This is unlike any time in history probably that we have the ability, the start up money to do this, to get this going, but if the people of our county want to see this continue into the future, the passage of this levy is crucial,” he added.

Commissioner Robert Thompson told us the commission plans to vote on a contract to buy the ambulances at its April 8 meeting.