Editor’s Note: In recent weeks, CMED New Haven, the outfit that dispatches Derby fire and ambulance, has hit hard times because larger municipalities want to pay smaller annual fees for the services provided.
Click here for a past Valley Indy story. Click here for a New Haven Register story.
Over the weekend, CMED laid off several staffers.
The following guest column was submitted Tuesday by David Lenart, chief of the Derby Storm Ambulance and Rescue Service, and Tom Lenart, Jr., the Derby Fire Department Chief.
As of July 1, CMED New Haven is operating with only two emergency dispatchers per shift.
This is down from four on day shifts, three on evenings, and two on overnights.
Along with the reduction in staff, CMED is also seeing a reduction in their workload.
Only priority calls will be required to contact CMED, not every ambulance responding to every call in the region, like the system required prior to these changes.
Currently the Chief Officers of the Storm Ambulance Corps and the Derby Fire Department are monitoring the situation to ensure there are no laps in coverage and public safety is not affected.
We want the public to know that emergency 9 – 1‑1 calls take priority over all other CMED functions, such as ambulance-to-hospital communications and coordinating mutual aid.
We are also adjusting our procedures so that in the event of a large incident in the city a Communications Officer will be appointed by the Incident Commander to ensure our own members’ safety.
Over the next few weeks the Ambulance Corps and the Fire Department will be working with the city to come up with a permanent solution to the problem.
If anyone has any questions please feel free to email at the address below.
David Lenart
Storms Chief
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Thomas Lenart, Jr.
Derby Fire Department Chief
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
