info from 2023 whitefield maine annual report

excerpts from https://townofwhitefield.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annual-Report-Whitefield-2023-Complete-with-Insert.pdf

Delta ambulance is moving out of Augusta and is looking for another
place to locate. Coopers Mills Fire Department building seems an ideal
location for them. The Town and Delta are in negotiations with Coopers
Mills Volunteer Fire Department Association to try to bring an
ambulance service closer to Whitefield.

Delta ambulance service has started charging the town for its
services and the Board signed our first contract with them.

Facilities Committee Report The Facilities Committee is charged with
providing recommendations to the Select Board on the upkeep and
maintenance of Town buildings and properties. The town buildings are
in good shape but need maintenance to keep them in good condition and
safe. We are fortunate to have two Fire Associations that fund raise
to support their stations and perform much of the needed work
themselves. Kip Glidden continues to keep the town office and central
fire station clean, and performs maintenance on town buildings with
the help of volunteers.

We had enough revenue to maintain our fire station, including
continuing substantial interior renovations. The Kings Mills station
currently houses both Engine 3 and a forestry truck for fighting brush
fires, thus permitting a faster response time for fires in the
southern part of town. We are always looking for new members and ideas
to help us raise funds to assist the fire department with its mission.
Our association members include firefighters who are active in the
municipal department, but involvement in firefighting is not a
requirement.

With the creation of the Municipal Fire Department, the number of
active firefighters in Coopers Mills has diminished, leaving CMVFD
with the primary job of housing the newest of Whitefield's Fire
trucks. In the last few years, CMVFD has put over $200,000 into the
building, providing safe efficient housing for the new truck.

Whitefield EMS is currently comprised of two Emergency Medical
Technicians (EMT) and one Emergency Medical Responder (EMR). All of
which are licensed by the state of Maine and nationally registered
healthcare providers. While professionally trained and licensed, all
are volunteers and respond to 911 emergency calls when they are
available and able. In 2023 the town of Whitefield's brief experiment
with establishing a paid on call EMT at the Central Station part time
ended in May when Ben Caron, our previous Director (and most highly
qualified EMT) accepted a position in another town and resigned from
our service. In retrospect, the 24 hour a week flexible on-call EMT
schedule did not line up well with the reality of the random timing of
medical emergencies in Whitefield so we have not continued the program
since Ben's departure.

==========================

FD only went to 2 EMS calls in 2023 - that seems to be a problem - EMS
is part of the FD budget - they have a couple of new firefighters and
new people who might take EMT training - maybe they should push to get
more EMRs and then push to get more EMTs - but the town population is
only around 2,000 - but Newfield runs an ALS ambulance with only 1,000
population