Residents want ambulance returned cont... Continued from page 15


qualified personnel. In the French Broad Fire Depart-


ment’s August meeting, the board decided to terminate the ambulance service as of Aug. 31. Board mem- bers cited rising costs, poor collec- tions and lack of available personnel as the reasons for taking the ambu- lance from service. Now some residents are saying


they would rather have the ambu- lance than fire trucks, while others are suggesting an increase in the millage tax to cover the costs. Approximately 30 people attend-


ed the department’s Tuesday (Sept. 14) meeting to protest the end of the ambulance service. During the more than two-hour meeting, attending residents expressed concerns about availability of county or other am- bulances and how fast they would arrive on the scene. Roger Banks, a county EMS em-


ployee who has family in the French Broad district, said it was obvious the community wanted the ambu- lance, and it was up to the board and the community to find a way to pro- vide one. “Eighty to 90 percent of the calls


for this department are medical,” said French Broad resident Mike Brown. “Why do we need bays full of fire trucks for things that can be


replaced like barns and houses?” While the crowd stated their de-


sire for continued ambulance service, board members asked where every- body was when they were trying to figure out a solution to the problem. “Why wasn’t this community


here when this [voting to terminate ambulance service] was going on?” asked board member Debra Jarrett. “We all need the ambulance. Tell us where we get the money or how to cut the hours and the budget.” While citizens expressed their need


for the ambulance and talked about raising taxes and other ideas to raise the funds, a French Broad safety of- ficer, who would not give her name, pointed out the state laws would not allow taxation for an ambulance. Department EMTs and board


members spoke to the crowd about the availability of ambulance service from the county and other nearby departments, the arrival times of such ambulances and stated that French Broad first responders would still be running calls and could do almost everything an ambulance could do. Meanwhile the department’s li-


cense for an ambulance has expired, and the ambulance in question is parked in the back of the French Broad station while board members debate what to do next.


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During the French Broad Fire Department September 14 meeting, resident Mike Brown (center) asks the board of directors why the department couldn’t replace some of the fire trucks with the ambulance. Photo by Catherine Hunter


Woodfin


Woodfin hires new reserve officer


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