Concord City Council Moves Ambulance From Penacook To HQ

CONCORD, NH — In an effort to improve response times in other parts of the city, the Concord City Council agreed to a recommendation to move an ambulance, stationed at the Manor Fire Station in Penacook, the headquarters on North State Street.

Fire Chief Sean Brown told councilors the move would “balance workloads” and “improve ambulance response times to areas of highest demand.” The proposal included $144,000 in overtime compensation and benefits but would not add any new personnel. At the same time, Brown told councilors the city had doubled call volume in 25 years but still had only 20 on staff during any given shift.

In order to make sure Penacook residents could be served as quickly as possible, staffing at the Manor station would be increased from three to four and an advanced life support level would be staffed “as often as possible.”

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If, during the next fiscal year, the city decided to add a fourth ambulance, only four new firefighters would be required instead of eight.

The fire officials were asked about how the change would increase response times in Penacook but they did not have specific data. They agreed to bring more data to the council in the future. Brown said the Manor ambulance was already sent on many calls outside of Penacook now.

Deputy Chief John Chisholm also presented data to the councilors. Call volume citywide increased by 20 percent in 2021 when compared to 2020, an already busy year due to the first nine months of the coronavirus pandemic. Brown said 2021 was the busiest year ever in the history of the organization — with about 70 percent of calls being emergency services and those were also increasing, too.

Byron Champlin, an at-large city councilor, asked Brown if, with that kind of volume, firefighters had enough time for training. Brown said he appreciated the question and then added, “They do not. The call volume, currently, does impact training.”

At-Large City Councilor Fred Keach asked about mutual aid calls and Brown said the fire chief from Bow recently pointed out to him that about 10 percent of that town’s call volume were trips into Concord.

Ward 1 City Councilor Brent Todd, who represents Penacook, asked about diminished service numbers and was told there would be longer response times in the northwest part of the city and some of the north, meaning Ward 10. Todd said he heard from residents who were concerned and said officials should do whatever they could to allow the ambulance to remain at the Manor Station.

After requesting a fourth ambulance last year, officials spent a lot of time trying to figure out a way to make it work and expand coverage with current staffing, Brown said.

“This is the best solution we have available,” he said.

Todd asked if staffing went from 20 to 21, could the ambulance remain in Penacook. Brown said, with 21, a fourth ambulance could be added.

Jennifer Kretovic, the Ward 3 city councilor, called the ALS “as much as possible” line in a memo frightening. Brown nodded. Kretovic said there were concerns about times now at some of the areas of the city.

Keach returned to the mutual aid question and was told the city’s EMTs left Concord 154 times during the past year.

Ward 10 City Councilor Zandra Rice Hawkins asked what the ballpark figure for adding a fourth ambulance would be and was told about $1.4 million — around $255,000 in staffing this year, another $892,000 for next year, and a new ambulance, estimated to cost $300,000. If the fourth ambulance was added immediately, they would need to use a reserve ambulance.

Citizen Concerns

State Rep. Safiya Wazir (D-Concord) spoke in favor of increased staffing noting she had heard from constituents concerned about time responses which sometimes reached up to 30 minutes. She said firefighter burnout was also a concern. Wazir also had a family medical issue recently and commended the fire department for its assistance.

Tim Ames, a Concord resident and full-time firefighter in another community, said it was really surprising the city had not increased staffing in more than 20 years. He said, however, the city would get there and a fourth ambulance was needed.

Dan Leathers of Concord, who was also a firefighter in another community, said he would be affected by the move of the ambulance. But he was in support of the change and also the addition of a fourth ambulance later. Leathers said it was “unheard of” to deal with double the call volume with the same staff.

Alan Herschlag, a former Ward 2 Concord city councilor, spoke out against the proposal saying, “Please don’t do this.”

Wendy Follansbee of Penacook said she would not feel safe if the EMTs moved out of the village. She said there was more housing being built and an aging population, too. The proposal was a mistake, Follansbee said.

Another retired firefighter said he was opposed to the plan to move EMTs. The solution, he said, was to add another ambulance. During public safety board meetings, he said, fire chiefs have requested a fourth ambulance repeatedly.

“It’s time … and not next year,” he said.

Cathy Furlong also sent an email requesting the proposal be reexamined.

“I have serious concerns on how that will affect this end of Concord,” she said. “By moving the ambulance away from the Manor Station, Wards 1 and 2 will essentially be left with no ambulance service. I understand that an ambulance can be sent to us, but time will definitely take longer.”

Council Discussion

Erle Pierce, the Ward 2 city councilor, said he was very concerned with the proposal and liked Todd’s idea of putting another person on the firefighting staff to move toward a fourth ambulance. He then made a motion to increase the department to 21 firefighters per shift, essentially adding a fourth ambulance.

City Manager Tom Aspell said it would be about a 2 percent tax increase to implement and it would take 18 months to order a new ambulance. A reserve ambulance, he added, would not last that long.

Ward 7 City Council Keith Nyhan suggested readdressing the issue of a fourth ambulance during the budget discussions in May.

Kretovic said she was supporting the measure while also requesting updated call time information from the areas that might be affected.

Champlin said, while sympathetic to Pierce and Todd on the issue, as well as the northern part of the city, he agreed with Nyhan. He said assessments rising were really hitting taxpayers hard adding he would like to see a progression to the fourth ambulance, which was clearly needed. It was too late in the evening, Champlin added, to cobble together a plan.

Rice Hawkins, however, said councilors had this information for a long time and should make a decision. “Work-life-balance with staff members” was also something that needed to be addressed, she said. Rice Hawkins said she would support the change but wanted to start the process of bringing on a fourth ambulance immediately.

Nathan Fennessey, another at-large city councilor, called the proposal “a stop-gap measure” that was appropriate, given it was late in the fiscal year.

Todd called the vote difficult and a “high-cost item.” But the hidden cost, he said, was the higher response times. Without that information, he could not make a responsible decision. Todd said he always supported the fire department and wished there were more options.

“It would be nice to have (the response time) information before we had the vote,” he said.

Mayor Jim Bouley said he did not agree with Pierce’s proposal and said the discussion about a fourth ambulance would be held in two months.

Pierce’s proposal was rejected 11-4, with Ward 5 City Councilor Stacey Brown, Pierce, Rice Hawkins, and Todd voting for it.

The proposal to move the ambulance from the Manor Station to the Central Station was then approved.

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