Burlington VFD wants county EMS to take over its ambulance service
By Shawna Dreadfulwater
Burlington Fire Department is looking to team up with Carroll County Emergency Medical Service for a better, more reliable service for Burlington area residents.

The VFD held an informational meeting for the public last Wednesday evening to discredit rumors regarding the fate of the ambulance service in the Burlington area.

Burlington is the only remaining station with volunteer staff in the county; the other three stations - Delphi, Flora and Yeoman have paid staff.

Finding new people to volunteer and keeping the current people is becoming more difficult, said assistant fire chief Derek Jackson.

Currently the Burlington station has 18 volunteer firemen with only 10 of them certified EMTs. The short staff is expected to cover all calls, whether medical or fire related.

The department typically has 200 ambulance runs a year, said Jackson. "In 2005, we transported 191 patients."

Burlington's ambulance service area includes county line to county line coverage along SR 29, Burlington and Carrollton townships and parts of Democrat and Washington townships, plus two townships in Howard County and another in Clinton County. I n 2000, the department started sending out letters asking for volunteers to add to the staff. Out of approximately 3,800 letters sent out annually, no new recruits have been secured.

"This is a very demanding job and wears on you after a while as a volunteer," said Carroll County EMS director Mike Durr.

Carroll County EMS has been forced to look at taking over Burlington's ambulance service due to some slow first response times. When the ambulance leaves the building an EMT and a driver are needed (bare minimum), and having those volunteers available constantly is becoming the challenge, Durr said.

Response time is four to six minutes with the volunteer team and would be two to four minutes with a paid staff. Statistics show that the quicker the response, the greater a patient's chance of survival.

The majority of Burlington's staff is trained in Basic Life Support (BLS). They can administer CPR, first aid, and treat shock. They also have use of a defibrillator. The Advanced Life Support (ALS) team can administer medicine through IV and ventilate patients, providing more extensive care that is often needed in emergency situations.

Because Burlington is a BLS system, a dual ambulance response is required. This entails an ALS ambulance responding too, until it is determined that ALS is not needed. At that point, the BLS response assumes patient care.

"A merger will decrease or change emergency response to the Burlington area," said Durr. "If anything, it should improve the service currently provided because an EMT and paramedic would be immediately available. Burlington VFD would still respond with BLS skills and be able to assist the ALS responders."

"This extra help allows the ALS responder to directly assist the patient more efficiently during emergency situations," explained Durr.

Carroll County EMS is under contract with Burlington VFD to provide a daytime EMT (Monday through Friday). With a merger, the Burlington station would be fully staffed 24 hours a day as an ALS system. Burlington VFD would lease the current building and lot to Carroll County EMS.

Under the current arrangement, Burlington VFD receives money from the county to maintain an ambulance and provide needed equipment.

"The ambulance is in good condition and the building is already equipped for staff to have more than adequate living space and facilities," he added.

No new expense should be needed immediately for an ambulance or building, explained Durr.

Carroll County Commissioners will have to approve Carroll County EMS taking over Burlington's ambulance service. Durr will be explaining the proposed merger at the next commissioner's meeting to be Aug. 7 at 9 a.m. in the commissioner's room at the courthouse in Delphi.