Medic 33 Improves Response Time

The town's ambulance, Medic 33, is arriving at emergency scenes about 2.3 minutes faster since a new program began a month ago.

For several years, the Orange Police Department has worked cooperatively with  Medic 33, affiliated with American Medical Response (AMR).

The ambulance is centrally located at the Clark Building, known to many as the old library, across from the town green, and its response time is generally very good.

Police officers are trained EMTs and as first responders, they can handle most medical calls until the paramedic arrives at the scene.

The procedure has always been as follows:

The police are dispatched to medical calls and then, the police dispatcher contacts AMR with information so the company can give Medic 33 pre-arrival instructions when they dispatch the ambulance to the scene.

Recently, AMR asked Police Chief Robert Gagne if he would consider including Medic 33 in the initial dispatch to medical calls, to help improve the ambulance's response time.

Gagne agreed to allow Medic 33 to install the police frequency in its radio, and on Monday, Oct. 4, the police dispatcher began calling out to Medic 33 when he or she sends patrol cars to medical calls. The procedure worked well when police and the ambulance arrived at several medical calls, including a child with an anaphylactic reaction, at nearly the same time.

The police still call AMR so they can provide pre-arrival instructions, but Medic 33 now has a leg up in the process and is capable of responding to a scene a little faster, and in their business, every minute counts.

The actual response times will be released next week.