At a City Council Committee on Public Safety meeting two weeks ago, the Coogan Administration defended the effectiveness of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department following a recent reorganization that resulted in a change in the deployment of ambulances at city fire stations.
Residents in the Niagara neighborhood have expressed concern that the Candeias Station on Plymouth Avenue will be the lone fire station in the city without a rescue assigned to it. More rescues will be housed at the Central Fire Station on Bedford Street.
City Administrator Seth Aitken told the committee that where the ambulances are stationed is not as important as their response times on calls. An acceptable response time nationally is eight minutes. Mr. Aitken says in Fall River, ambulance response times are just over five minutes.
EMS director Tim Oliveira says even when it appears ambulances are late to an emergency call, there is other personnel that will respond to triage the medical situation until an ambulance arrives.
The city currently has seven rescues in service daily. An additional rescue will be coming online in the next month to increase coverage throughout the city three days a week.
Video Courtesy Fall River Government Television
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