Thirty-three calls for Ambulance Squad in December

SALISBURY —  In the month of December, the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service (SVAS) went on 33 calls. Of those,  11 were stand-bys for Lakeville Hose and did not require the ambulance or crews to leave the building, five were dispatched for a sick person, five involved traumatic injuries, there were three falls, two difficulty breathing calls, two chest pains, one psychiatric problem, one pain, one lift assist and two refusals. Eight of the dispatches involved residents of Noble Horizons.

An interesting aspect of calls for this month is the increased number of dispatches for chimney fires, fire alarms and CO2 detectors. The Lakeville Hose Company is the primary responder and SVAS only gets “toned out� for back-up or stand-by. For the majority of those calls, SVAS was canceled prior to response.

According to Mike Brenner, SVAS  rescue chief, the increased volume of calls is directly related to the increased use of woodstoves and fireplaces and to heat sources and electric systems being run at their maximum levels in the winter.

Days can go by without an emergency call and then there will be multiple calls in one day. There were two days when crews went out four times, and three days when the crew on duty responded three times.

The number of calls for the year was 432.

This past year saw the introduction of two technological advances. The squad now files all its run reports electronically, using EMS Charts. SVAS also acquired a state-of-the-art all-terrain Gator, equipped with a cot in the back. It has been put to use several times.

Fundraising for SVAS was given a boost by two particularly generous donations. One donor gave $10,000 and a family gave $5,000. The squad is deeply appreciative of this support.

This monthly column by Lakeville Journal copy editor and ambulance squad volunteer Tara Kelly is an update on Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service activities.

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