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Council asks manager for policy on routine fire‑department helicopter transports
Summary
Councilor Couture asked the city manager to provide policy and cost‑sharing information about Engine 10 waiting at Lowell General for Medflight helicopter transfers; manager agreed to investigate whether the hospital reimburses the city for standby costs.
Councilor Couture asked the manager to research the city’s policy for fire department resources that wait at Lowell General Hospital for Medflight helicopter landings and patient transfers, citing repeated deployment of Engine 10 and concern about manpower impacts on 911 coverage.
Couture said the helipad near Lowell General is new and that crews sometimes must station an engine while a helicopter lands and a patient is loaded or while physicians are transported, which can leave the engine unavailable for other emergency calls. He asked whether Lowell General reimburses the city for those standby costs. Manager Golden said he was not aware of cost sharing and agreed to investigate and report back to council.
Why it matters: Councilors framed the question as an operational and resource‑deployment issue: assigning an engine to standby at a hospital can reduce coverage for other responses. Councilors requested a defined policy and any existing agreements or reimbursement arrangements to understand the fiscal and operational impacts.
Formal action: Councilor Couture’s request for the manager to provide a policy or report on the practice was moved and seconded and passed; manager committed to return with information about cost sharing and operational implications.
Ending: Manager Golden said he would research whether the hospital reimburses the city and would report back to council in a future meeting.
