Conn. Agencies Join Forces with Shared Back-up Ambulance

Oct. 29—Emergency medical officials in Brookfield and New Milford have teamed up to ensure they are able to respond quickly to the ever increasing number of calls each town receives for ambulance services.

The Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department and the New Milford Community Ambulance launched a pilot program last week that provides a shared back-up ambulance during peak weekday hours.

"We launched the program on Monday and already the ambulance has responded to four or five calls this week," Brookfield Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Ellis said Friday. "I envision that the pilot program will be successful and hopefully we can expand it in the future."

Ellis said the Cooperative Ambulance program came together after months of planning by the departments and Vintech Management Service, the company that provides staffing for their ambulances.

At any given time, Brookfield and New Milford each have one staffed ambulance that is ready to respond to calls, Ellis said. The departments also have additional ambulances manned by volunteers that can be called into service if needed.

But when peak call volumes come in during the weekdays, and volunteers are unavailable, the new Cooperative Ambulance will be available at a moment's notice to either town. The departments will take turns providing an ambulance for the service and Vintech will provide the staffing.

"In some weeks it may be a Brookfield ambulance and other weeks it could be a New Milford ambulance," Ellis said. "The plan is to have the ambulance stationed at the Candlewood Valley Golf Course so they can respond to both towns."

The golf course, which is located near the border between the two towns, agreed to serve as a staging area, Ellis said. If the pilot program proves successful, a more permanent staging area may be sought.

Ambulance services in both towns are funded through fees charged to users. The municipalities also often assist with funding for their towns' services.

The departments will meet every two weeks to evaluate the program and any changes that may be necessary.

Ellis said the towns' commercial and residential growth, including new assisted living facilities, has increased the number of ambulance calls received. The more people frequent town businesses and move into the area, the higher the demand for services.

"When a new development comes in people always talk about the traffic concerns and other public impacts," Ellis said. "But nobody seems to ever undertake a study about how the increased development effects emergency response operations."

Officials with the New Milford Community Ambulance were not immediately available for comment.