HATFIELD — The town will pay South County EMS around $38,000 per month to ensure an ambulance is available to respond to medical calls.
Ongoing staffing shortages at the Hatfield Fire Department have turned South County EMS from a mutual aid ambulance into the town’s de facto primary medical responder. The Selectboard voted 3-0 last week to accept the proposal.
While Hatfield officials had hoped to reach an arrangement that would set a per-call payment, possibly at a lower price until reaching a certain threshold, South County EMS officials have said the fixed price is necessary to allow for a second, around-the-clock ambulance at its South Deerfield site.
“It’s a lot of money. It’s not what we were anticipating,” said Town Administrator Andrew Levine.
But Selectboard member Ed Jaworski said the town is out of options unless and until it rebuilds its Fire Department staffing and corresponding ambulance service.
“Yes, it’s a lot of money, but until we have something else, what are we going to do?” Jaworski said.
Jaworski went on to say that the hope is for this arrangement to be a temporary stopgap, adding that it could become the practice for the long run if the town is unable to bring on new firefighter-paramedics and EMTs.
Selectboard member Julia Frisby said keeping ambulance service in-house remains her preferred option, and it’s possible that the significant pressure of payments to South County EMS could spur this to happen.
“In some ways, this is going to hold our feet to the fire in that we’re going to have to absolutely find a better option for the town with a long-term plan,” Frisby said.
Selectboard Chair Luke Longstreeth said the deal renews every 30 days, so Hatfield can get out quickly.
Longstreeth said he had reached out to other providers, both in the private and public sector, and found that the costs and structures would be similar.
“At first I thought the number was rather high, but now I feel a little more comfortable after talking to other [fire] chiefs and professionals in the industry,” Longstreeth said.
As the town continues to try to hire more firefighters, Levine said Northampton Fire Rescue has informed him it doesn’t have the capacity to add Hatfield to its coverage. A private ambulance service remains a possibility, as does a longer-term arrangement with South County EMS, Levine said.
The decision to sign an agreement with South County EMS comes in advance of a joint meeting the board will have with the Whately Selectboard on Nov. 4.
At that meeting, the board anticipates signing an agreement that will allow Hatfield and Whately to have a shared police chief, after Hatfield Police Chief Michael Dekoschak retires at the end of the year. Under this plan, Whately Police Chief James Sevigne Jr. would split his hours equally between the communities, though each department’s personnel will continue to operate independently.
“Time will basically be divided half and half,” Levine said.
The costs related to the chief’s vehicle, such as maintenance and fuel, will also be divided equally.
“Overall, I feel this is a good proposal,” Longstreeth said. “It seems equitable for both communities.”
The more complicated discussion that evening will be related to fire services, where the Whately Selectboard is seeking an intermunicipal agreement in which it would charge $500 to Hatfield any time its personnel respond or are dispatched when no Hatfield firefighters are available. This would apply even in cases when a call is canceled.
Whately wants to bill retroactively for calls since July 1, or about 16 calls where its department was the primary responder because Hatfield firefighters were unavailable.
One unresolved question is whether the charge would apply from the moment firefighters are dispatched or only when they arrive on scene.
Hatfield Fire Chief Robert Flaherty said he understands the charge wouldn’t apply for typical mutual aid situations, such as a house fire where multiple agencies join Hatfield firefighters in the response.
