Just ten days and 114 emergency calls logged, Kingston mayor Steve Noble and fire chief Chris Rea made their pitch to the Finance and Audit Committee for increasing fire-department staff by 15 percent. The eight new hires, three paramedics and five EMTs, will bolster the pool of first responders available for staffing the new city-operated ambulance service.
“That’s going to add approximately two people per shift,” said Rea. “Still there will be some overtime, but this is going to allow us to get the program moving forward.”
By employing more firefighter paramedics and firefighter EMTs, the city will be eligible for federal training funding which pays almost all the costs of the new hires and winds down over a three-month period, said Noble.
“The city has been put into a pickle here, not by our choice.” said Noble
Anticipated to generate anywhere from one to two and a half million dollars annually, revenues collected from the insurance companies for individuals the service has accommodated, the service may never be revenue-neutral. And that’s fine with Rea. “Regardless of their ability to pay,” he said, “service will be provided to all.”
Some $859,900 has been allocated for initial personnel and equipment through the end of 2024. A paramedic trained and authorized to utilize drugs in lifesaving and condition-stabilizing efforts rides aboard every ALS ambulance. The ambulance services provided by Empress for the new year, the same that Kingston is now running, would have cost the city $670,000.
“We take this on, we control the ambulance,” said Rea. “There would be a significant financial outlay with a third party. We recognize staffing is an expensive endeavor, but it’s not just the financial, it’s quality of life.”
Currently consultants are working with the city to identify realistic staffing numbers versus anticipated revenues. By late March, an insurance billing company will have been chosen.
Fire chief Rea wants a boat
The Kingston Fire Department has applied for a $550,000 grant with which to purchase a new rescue boat. It will get the money provided that the city puts up $20,000 in good-faith capital as a contingency for cost overages.
“The sheriff’s department has a very similar boat — aluminum hull, almost indestructible,” said mayor Steve Noble. “It will have a pump on it to put out fires on any marine vessels .… Boats are not inexpensive.”
While the sheriff’s boat roams the waterways across the county, the present Kingston boat, “a very old vessel, requiring a lot of maintenance,” primarily covers the waters off Kingston popular among boating enthusiasts during the warm months of the year.
“Because we have both the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River, it’s a very busy marine area,” said Noble.
Stored at a marina across the creek in Connelly, the existing boat, which carries BLS equipment on board, responded to 47 calls last year.
Alder Steve Schabot noted that Ward 8’s volunteer fire department has a rescue boat. “Is this going to put them out of business?” asked Schabot. “Is there even going to be a need for them to be down there any longer?”
“No,” Rea admitted. “No, there’s not.”
The committee voted unanimously to support the maritime aspirations of fire chief Rea.
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