There seems to be some confusion as to some recent Lebanon Rescue Calls made and reported on another page.
There were actually TWO calls made to the same address on that day.
The times that were noted were all over the board with some saying 25 minutes and some saying 27 minutes.
Let's start with a bit of information.
Right now, Ambulance 1 is in the shop for repairs.
This is NOT a cheap fix for Ambulance 1 and it is a repair that was noted by the repair shop as one that has been plaguing Ambulance 1 for as far back as the family Chief and Asst. Chief and was not addressed due to cost. They just pushed it off, in other words. The repairs were addressed again while Rescue was under the command of an interim Chief and because of financial budget reasons, it was once again, pushed to the side and left for a later date.
According to Chief Meehan, the repairs needed for Rescue 1 (Ambulance 1, the old one) are at a point now where they can not be pushed off to the side and have the vehicle remain in service.
So the ambulance is in the shop to be repaired.
As I've stated, the repairs to this vehicle are crucial to it remaining in service. They are not cheap and easy Band-Aid repairs as they are repairs needed to the air ride system of the vehicle.
Rescue 1 has been seen by two separate shops for estimates, which is the BEST way to do business. Competition between businesses is healthy and competition brings a better price for our town. The problem and cost have been identified and it's being looked into whether or not the problem is covered under warranty, which means a day or two waiting time before getting an answer back from an outside company.
Once the decision is made on how to proceed, the Purchase Order is filled out and presented to the Lebanon Board of Selectmen who meet on Monday and Thursday evenings and who review the Purchase Order and have to sign off on it in order for the dollars to be expended.
Once the purchase order is signed, the work on Rescue 1 can begin.
Knowing our Chief, while Rescue is down, he's alerted our Mutual Aid responders and the Dispatch that Rescue 1 is out of service so that they are aware that should there be multiple calls in Lebanon at the same time, we'll not be able to use the vehicle.
So..........back to the calls that are being slammed on some other pages.
First, we've all heard about the volunteer department way of doing things and 25 (or 27) minutes at 3 am to get out of bed, head to the department, and then move the ambulance to a call is not an unheard of amount of time. Beginning on July 1, 2015, as voted by the Town of Lebanon, there will be staffing at both the Fire Department and Rescue Department which will make call times shorter, however, because you voted for it on June 9, does not make that an immediate change. The change then becomes effective at the beginning of our next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2015. Until that time, the Rescue Department must still function under the restraints of the previous budget which did not allow for staffing.
So. There you have that answer.
The second part of the answer comes when you have a patient who is combative. According to the other page's information, the patient was in and out of consciousness and it was reported as a possible drug issue.
What they do not tell you, is that in these instances, the State Police are called into the scene to be sure that he EMTs who arrive to care for the patient are not in danger when arriving on scene. Therefore Rescue 2 can not proceed to the scene until State Police have been to the address and cleared it for EMTs to enter.
So was it a longer period of time before Rescue 2 could access the patient?? You BET. They can not legally go into a residence that Central Dispatch has told them to wait for the State Police to clear. They just can't.
The second call was only a short while after the first (about 6 hours) and while Rescue 2 was waiting to see the patient, another emergency call was logged. There's not one word about how that call was handled, but it was toned out immediately to Mutual Aid due to the fact that Sanford Central Dispatch knew that our own Rescue Crew was already busy.
Your Rescue Department is in very capable hands. There is no reason to worry or be afraid that you will not be attended to. Chief Dan Meehan has worked tirelessly to repair relationships that were torn apart by former Rescue Commands and he has the complete support of other area Chiefs and Departments. They are all working together to bring safety and response to the Town of Lebanon, and likewise, our Department is working to help ensure a safety net for their towns as well. Mutual Aid goes both ways. The Towns who respond here in Lebanon are also on the list to have our Rescue Department respond to their calls for help as well.
With the passing of the new Rescue budget by the Lebanon voters on June 9, 2015 the funds are going to be available to begin some very positive changes at our newly combined Fire and Rescue Departments beginning on July 1, 2015. There are vehicles that have needed repairs for a very long time, we have new staff coming on board and a new group of EMTs taking certification courses over at Frisbie Hospital, thanks to a grant by Frisbie secured by Chief Meehan, who will be graduating that course in only a matter of months. Safety equipment that has been missing from the combined Fire and Rescue Department has been identified, requested via Purchase Order, and will be acquired.
There is so much going on in our Lebanon Fire and Rescue Department that it's buzzing with activity. But changes don't happen overnight. The 6 months that Daniel Meehan have been your Chief have provided many changes. And in the greater scheme of things, 6 months as Chief of a horribly run down couple of departments IS, in fact, like overnight.
Not all Rescue calls are as simple as jumping in an Ambulance, tossing the patient in the back of the van, and racing through the streets to the hospital, lights flashing and sirens blaring. There are protocols that must be followed for the safety of the EMT's and Rescue personnel responding. There are some calls that an EMT can not transport without the benefit of a Paramedic on board. There are other calls that can not be attended to without State Police intervention. It's all a very synchronized ballet and unless you are privy to the choreography of the scene, you don't always know why things are happening the way they are, but to only assume you know what's happening behind the closed doors of someone's home during a Rescue operation is wrong and it speaks volumes to the people who are making these comments.
If you have a question, I will be glad to ask it for you, or you can feel free to contact Chief Daniel Meehan at the Lebanon Fire and Rescue Department.
Better yet, why not stop in and take a look around and say hello to your Chief and his personnel?? They're people just like you and I and they welcome you stopping by for a chat as long as they aren't busy on a call!!
