PLAISTOW — The town is nearly a month into providing its own ambulance service, and readying a new fully-stocked ambulance to solve past availability issues.
A “Push In” ceremony took place on March 18 to celebrate the changes at the fire station. “Push-In” dates back to the days when the fire wagon returned to the station, horses were unhitched and the crew pushed the wagon back inside the station.
Plaistow was previously in a six-town contract with Pridestar Trinity EMS for about a decade before opting out to provide its own service.
Plaistow Fire Chief Chris Knutsen advocated for the transition, recognizing the town needs two ambulances dedicated to serving Plaistow residents. Concerns arose when no ambulances were available for emergency calls in town.
“It’s been a long time coming, and the transition has been seamless so far, he said.
The biggest changes have been improved response times and the availability of ambulances nearby, the chief added.
The response time to get to a scene has dropped from about eight minutes to four-and-a-half minutes with two ambulances departing from the fire station at 27 Elm St.
Through March 22, the Fire Department responded to 90 calls. Out of those, 56 were medical calls where 50 patients were transported to various hospitals.
Knutsen said the town has only required a mutual aid ambulance once during that time.
Some of the patients were also transported to Boston hospitals. The paramedics are now able to make those decisions based on care needed.
Knutsen said there was one call in particular where the decision to go to Boston was crucial.
“That really was never a choice before,” Knutsen said. “Now we have the autonomy to make the decision of where to transport a patient.”
“It’s a great difference (compared to) the service provided before,” Plaistow paramedic Alex Frazier said.
For Frazier and fellow paramedic Joel Lavallee who joined the department in February, the positive effect of the new service has already been felt. Fire Department personnel now focus on either paramedic services or firefighting, based on individual expertise.
Lavallee credited Chief Knutsen for the change.
“It all starts with his vision and he has good groundwork laid out,” Lavallee said.
A few weeks ago, the department’s newest ambulance was delivered. Selectmen approved its purchase in 2022. It will become the primary transport vehicle.
As the department started its new service, Salem Fire Chief Craig Lemire loaned Plaistow an ambulance to help them with the transition so the town would have two ambulances to start with.
“It shows the relationship we have with our mutual aid partners,” Knutsen said.
Town officials have also shown support and advocated for the ambulance service along the way. But Knutsen said this growth for the department wouldn’t have been possible without the Plaistow residents who supported funding for the service.
“A safe community is a prepared community and our funding comes from our taxpayers,” Knutsen said.