As Promised, Penacook Gets Its Manor Station Ambulance Back: Watch

CONCORD, NH — The Concord Fire Department now has four ambulances covering medical calls, and its Manor Station in Penacook is now back to full staffing.

Firefighters, city officials, the mayor and city councilors, and Penacook residents were at the Manor Station on Saturday to celebrate the return of full coverage to the village and the addition of a fourth ambulance, too, the most the city has ever had.

Penacook’s ambulance coverage for advanced life support was reduced in mid-March after increased call volumes in the rest of the city and the lack of funding to put the fourth ambulance into service. This required moving the ambulance to headquarters.

The decision was a controversial one, with Penacook residents concerned about an increase in response times. At the same time, the rest of the city was living with even longer response times whenever the Penacook ambulance was sent to other parts of the city, which occurred often due to a significant increase in calls. Officials batted around different concepts — including hiring new firefighters and purchasing a new ambulance. But the firefighters would not be trained or the ambulance constructed and delivered any sooner than waiting until the next fiscal year started on July 1. They decided on shifting the ambulance with a promise to work toward finding a solution in future months.

Medical calls around the city have doubled in 25 years, but staffing for each shift, about 20, and remained the same. The year-over-year call volume, from 2020 to 2021, increased by 20 percent. About 70 percent of the department’s calls were for emergency services. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, a fourth ambulance was added temporarily due to increased calls and the time it was taking to disinfect ambulances.

In May, City Manager Tom Aspell proposed purchasing a new ambulance and hiring more firefighters, which amounted to a nearly 2 percent property tax increase at a time when property taxes were at their highest in the city — due to a tight real estate market which has increased assessments and valuations, and ever-increasing school district budgets.

Concord Fire Chief John Chisholm called the installation of the fourth ambulance “a very important day” for both the city and the department. Back in 2001, when the city had nearly 6,400 medical calls, a third ambulance was installed, he said. Right now, at three-fourths of the way through 2022, about 7,800 calls were made — meaning the city was on its way to servicing 10,500 for the year.

“There’s been a lot of growth recently,” Chisholm said. “As you can imagine, that growth rate has placed a strain on our ability to respond to calls and cover what we need to.”

Chisholm said the need to move the Penacook ambulance was due to much longer response times higher than recommended by fire standards or that staffers were comfortable with. When resources were limited, he said, the department had to go where the greatest need was to serve as many people as possible. A paramedic, however, was staffed at the Manor Station even though an ALS medic was not at the station for a few months.

Chisholm thanked Aspell and the city councilors for approving overtime for the interim and the increased staffing of firefighters, despite a tight labor market. The firefighters were hired in early September and trained, which allowed them to put the fourth ambulance online beginning Saturday.

“I’m proud to now say the village of Penacook is getting its ambulance back,” Chisholm said, to applause from the dozens of people in attendance.

Chisholm requested a resident of Penacook to come forward and welcome the ambulance back into service with a call over the air to dispatch.

A member of the Penacook community came forward and welcomed the ambulance back. A Capital Area Mutual Aid Fire Compact dispatcher then confirmed the return of the ambulance.

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