New Berlin FD restarts ambulance service
NEW BERLIN – The New Berlin Fire Department will now offer emergency transportation to local hospitals with the addition of an ambulance and a newly-created emergency management service.
Discussions between the village, the Town of New Berlin and the Town of Columbus in mid-January resulted in the purchase an ambulance. The $127,000 purchase includes a heart monitor upgrade, stretcher and other professional grade equipment.
The emergency managment service carries an estimated annual operational budget of $35,000. Another $5,000 is estimated for supplies and an additional back-up fund containing $3,000 is available for unexpected costs.
Village Mayor Carol Riley, town Supervisor Ross Iannello and Columbus Town Supervisor George Coates, along with councilmen and fire department volunteers representing all three areas, gathered March 7 at the firehouse to celebrate the consolidation.
The New Berlin Fire Department’s history dates back to 1955 when Wesley Aylesworth, Herb Butts, Harry Prentice and Merritt Lloyd started the all-volunteer emergency squad. The EMS service was in place until 1999 when the department changed to the New Berlin First Response EMS unit, primarily due to a shortage of manpower.
Gray’s Ambulance Service of Norwich then became the area’s primary emergency transport service, followed by Superior Ambulance until this past October. At the time when Superior left, Mayor Riley said the fire district began forming a plan that would continue services to residents.
“It became a problem and we had to figure out a plan to rectify it,” she said. “There really was no other option ... It was something that had to be done.”
Under the direction of EMS captain Susan Burke, volunteers are being trained and certified in CPR, EMT, AEMT and basic paramedic skills.
The new ambulance service will bill the patients or the patients’ insurance companies for the services provided. The people who use the service will be the ones who support it and any funding raised will be used for EMS unit operations, including equipment replacement, new equipment, supplies and staff.
“This was an expensive undertaking, but you cannot put a price tag on life,” said Riley. “If the service saves just one life, then it was worth it.”
Discussions between the village, the Town of New Berlin and the Town of Columbus in mid-January resulted in the purchase an ambulance. The $127,000 purchase includes a heart monitor upgrade, stretcher and other professional grade equipment.
The emergency managment service carries an estimated annual operational budget of $35,000. Another $5,000 is estimated for supplies and an additional back-up fund containing $3,000 is available for unexpected costs.
Village Mayor Carol Riley, town Supervisor Ross Iannello and Columbus Town Supervisor George Coates, along with councilmen and fire department volunteers representing all three areas, gathered March 7 at the firehouse to celebrate the consolidation.
The New Berlin Fire Department’s history dates back to 1955 when Wesley Aylesworth, Herb Butts, Harry Prentice and Merritt Lloyd started the all-volunteer emergency squad. The EMS service was in place until 1999 when the department changed to the New Berlin First Response EMS unit, primarily due to a shortage of manpower.
Gray’s Ambulance Service of Norwich then became the area’s primary emergency transport service, followed by Superior Ambulance until this past October. At the time when Superior left, Mayor Riley said the fire district began forming a plan that would continue services to residents.
“It became a problem and we had to figure out a plan to rectify it,” she said. “There really was no other option ... It was something that had to be done.”
Under the direction of EMS captain Susan Burke, volunteers are being trained and certified in CPR, EMT, AEMT and basic paramedic skills.
The new ambulance service will bill the patients or the patients’ insurance companies for the services provided. The people who use the service will be the ones who support it and any funding raised will be used for EMS unit operations, including equipment replacement, new equipment, supplies and staff.
“This was an expensive undertaking, but you cannot put a price tag on life,” said Riley. “If the service saves just one life, then it was worth it.”
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