The Town of Ulster’s efforts to push for improved emergency services response times over the past year was instrumental in the recent saving of an infant girl who nearly drowned in a swimming pool. At a meeting of the town board on Thursday, August 7, a letter from Ulster Hose Co. No. 5 fire chief Shawn Heppner described how firefighters and Empress EMS (Emergency Medical Services) were dispatched to a home where a ten-month-old had been found in a backyard pool.
“With the decision and fast response of the fire department and Empress, this baby will be able to return home to her family in the very near future,” read Heppner’s letter. “I thank the town board for listening to the department speak up when there are needs of ambulance services in our town.”
Earlier this year, the town board approved a $1.28-million contract with Empress Ambulance Service to provide coverage for the towns of Ulster and Kingston. The agreement, which runs from March 1 through December 31 of this year, was finalized on February 6. The contract includes the option for a full-year extension in 2026 under a new rate.
Empress is required to respond within eleven minutes and 59 seconds for at least 90 percent of calls. In its first three months, Empress delivered, responding in an average of six minutes and 53 seconds for its two primary units, and eight minutes and 45 seconds for a third backup unit.
Before the contract, Empress only responded when available. When the talks about improving services began in August 2024, fire officials informed the town board that over five percent of emergency calls were being transferred to other services, and that delays sometimes exceeded 40 minutes.
Town supervisor James E. Quigley III said the quick response on July 12 saved a child’s life.
“Ambulance number one, ULSA-1, was dispatched and arrived on the scene in three minutes and eleven seconds,” Quigley said. “Ambulance number two, ULSM-1, cleared HealthAlliance, which is in the City of Kingston at the hospital, and arrived on the scene in five minutes and 30 seconds.”
Quigley noted that the average response time prior to the deal with Empress was nine minutes and 27 seconds.
“These response times demonstrate the effectiveness of the program that chief Heppner was referring to,” he said. “And I think it’s a demonstration that our system that we’ve fought so hard to put in place is working effectively.”
The town board last week finalized creation of a formal ambulance district. Starting in 2026, the district will appear as a separate line on residents’ tax bills, enabling clearer budgeting and ensuring ambulance service costs don’t count toward the town’s property-tax cap.
“In a piece of legislation that the governor signed, it allows any ambulance districts to be excluded from the tax-cap calculation so that the increasing expenditures do not adversely impact other town districts as it relates to their ability to conduct a tax levy,” Quigley said. “Which helps us not have to cut underserved citizens to get under the tax debt.”
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