NORWICH – The City of Norwich EMS saw an uptick in calls outside its certified coverage area in July, drawing flak from some public officials who argue that Chenango County’s EMS should lift more of the burden.

Norwich EMS responded to 352 calls in July, 17 of which were to towns outside its Certificate of Need (CON) area, including one in Pharsalia, three in South New Berlin, two in Oxford, two in Sherburne, four in New Berlin, four in McDonough, and one in Guilford. Besides calls within city limits, Norwich EMS holds a contract to provide round-the-clock services in the towns of Norwich and North Norwich.

Numbers were slightly higher than usual for the department, according to Norwich Fire Chief Gerald Parry, who also pointed to the challenge many local ambulance services face of staffing basic and advanced life support EMTs to answer calls within their own districts.

The upward trend in calls for Norwich EMS is being scrutinized by some members of the City Council and other city representatives who question if Chenango County’s EMS, a separate entity from Norwich’s ambulance service, is taking advantage of Norwich EMS as the premier agency in the county.