NORWICH – The City of Norwich Fire Department has drafted an official ambulance service contract with the Town of Preston to provide parts of the township with fire and emergency medical transport services.

Although the Norwich Fire Department has had an ambulance agreement with the Town of Preston to provide emergency medical services since the privately owned Superior Ambulance company left the area in 2007, a written contract affirming that agreement has up to this point been a technicality that was overlooked, explained Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo.

“We have contracts with all communities outside the city that we provide ambulance protection for,” said Chawgo, noting that the city also has written contracts with the Town of Norwich, Town of North Norwich and the Town of Plymouth. “As we were recently reviewing those contracts, we found that nothing existed on paper for the Town of Preston.”

According to Chawgo, the written agreement ensures “business as usual.” Services will remain the same as will ambulance fees. Preston residents who require ambulance services, including those residing at the Preston Manor home for adults, will be billed individually, so the written contract will not have an impact on the town’s tax rate, he added.