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N.Y. council sets aside $263K for fifth ambulance to assist EMS coverage
The Kingston City Council has allocated $263,000 for a fifth ambulance to strengthen its EMS response and reduce the strain on existing units, pending state grant reimbursement.
A Kingston Fire Department ambulance.
Kingston Fire Department/Facebook
By William J. Kemble
Daily Freeman
KINGSTON, N.Y. — City Common Council members have set aside $263,000 to cover the cost of a fifth ambulance
The budget transfer was approved during a meeting Tuesday following a discussion a day earlier. The measure is under the stipulation that a state Dormitory Authority grant has been approved as reimbursement.
City-run ambulance service began Jan. 1, 2024, after taking over coverage from private provider Empress EMS. The city now operates two advanced life support units, a basic life ambulance, and one equipped for mental health calls.
The new unit would reduce the chance that all vehicles will be out simultaneously.
“I think it would be great because the ones that we have picked up …have been used ambulances and some of them are not as reliable as we would like,” said Alderman Robert Dennison, D- Ward 6.
“It causes…a situation where (Fire Chief Chris Rea ) has to switch out the mental health if one is done,” he said. “It’s a juggling act to maintain.”
Officials have reported that response time has been three minutes or less from the city’s central station on East O’Reilly Street.
“When we had a contract for ambulance service, we suffered from response time delay,” Dennison said. “We don’t have that anymore. They are out a lot and their response time is quick.”
Information on the number of calls handled by the city ambulance system was not immediately available, but officials this week were still relying on estimates of about 400 calls per month given in August 2024.
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