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Loudon fire chief: new ambulance in service; town negotiating $10,000 annual payment from Canterbury for north-town coverage
Summary
Fire Chief Tom Blanchett told the Loudon Board of Selectmen a new ambulance arrived and crews worked to outfit it; he also outlined an agreement under discussion for Canterbury to pay Loudon $10,000 per year for coverage of the town's northern section and proposed contract language to address unpaid EMS bills.
The Loudon Board of Selectmen authorized the chair to sign paperwork for a 2015 ambulance, and Fire Chief Tom Blanchett reported a new replacement ambulance arrived midday and crews were transferring radios and equipment in preparation for state inspection.
"The new ambulance arrived today at about noontime, so we've had quite a crew over there all afternoon stripping the old ambulance out so it could be traded in and trying to get the new ambulance into service so the state can come inspected at 03:00, hopefully, tomorrow afternoon," Blanchett said.
Blanchett reviewed recent maintenance and testing: a brake-line repair on the tower apparatus, annual aerial-truck and ground-ladder testing, completed hose testing with replacements where needed, and upcoming pump service for the tanker and Engine 2. He also said Loudon will transition to the NHERS national reporting system on Jan. 1.
Blanchett said run volume is up this year compared with last: "Our run volume this year has exceeded last year's officially now. We're at 31 calls as of today," and later gave an estimate of the split between EMS and fire: "your EMS is 504 calls. Fire is 524 calls," remarks he used to explain changing service patterns.
Separately, Blanchett described ongoing mutual-aid coverage into northern Canterbury, an area historically served by Belmont and Loudon. He said Canterbury plans to compensate Loudon for continued coverage with a $10,000 annual payment moving forward and asked the board to allow staff to refine a contract.
"Their intention is to pay us $10,000 moving forward, as well at the beginning of the year to continue providing that coverage," Blanchett said, describing the geography as roughly Route 106, portions of Shaker Road and areas such as Clough Pond and Baptist Hill.
Blanchett told the board he would add a proposed stipulation to the draft: if ambulance billings to patients are not paid, Canterbury would accept responsibility for unpaid balances and Loudon would invoice Canterbury quarterly for any outstanding amounts; any funds later collected through normal collections would be refunded to Canterbury. He said he had reviewed a draft contract used with Belmont and would return it to the board and counsel after adjustments.
The board gave Blanchett direction to continue negotiations and to route the draft contract through legal review when ready.
Clarifying details captured in the meeting include the timeframe for NHERS reporting (to begin Jan. 1), the run-volume comparison (31 calls this year versus 24 at the same point last year), the proposed annual payment from Canterbury ($10,000), and the geographic description for the covered area (Route 106, northern Shaker Road area including Clough Pond and Baptist Hill).
