New Britain EMS seeks to add paramedic non-transport vehicle, cites rising call volumes

New Britain Emergency Medical Services Inc. asked a regulatory hearing officer on Nov. 12, 2025, to approve adding an existing vehicle as a paramedic non-transport (ALS) first-responder unit to its fleet as part of an application filed under docket number 25Dash030.

The applicant said the additional vehicle would give the service more operational flexibility, reduce wear on transport ambulances and help the system respond to rising demand. "By adding an additional, paramedic non transport vehicle, it would allow us to offset some of the use of our other vehicles and decrease the wear and tear," said Patrick Ciardullo, a representative of New Britain Emergency Medical Services Inc.

The hearing officer pressed the applicants on inconsistent call-volume figures in the application. Page references in the record showed different totals for recent 9-1-1 calls, "responses by vehicle" and patient-care reports (PCRs). Sean Fisk, a second company representative, attributed the discrepancy to a typographical entry and to differences between counts of individual 9-1-1 calls and PCRs, which can exceed call counts when multiple units respond to the same incident. "The number of patient care reports was the number I had used to predict that because we're usually around 18,000," Fisk said.

Company witnesses also clarified trends over time. The applicants said PCRs rose from about 16,500 in 2022 to roughly 18,000 in 2024 — an increase of about 1,500 PCRs — and that the narrative portion of the application had mixed time frames (multi-year trends versus a rolling 12-month period), which contributed to the confusion. Alex Morisano, another witness, said the application assumes a 2.5% annual increase in call volume through 2027 and estimated that applying that rate to the base figure would produce an anticipated 17,332 calls in the next 12 months.

The hearing record contains no vote or final ruling. The hearing officer said he would issue a written decision within 45 days. The hearing was then adjourned.

The application sought approval to designate an existing vehicle as a paramedic non-transport asset and to include that vehicle in the 9-1-1 deployment strategy; the company said the change is intended to deliver the same level of care more efficiently while avoiding overreliance on mutual aid. No formal motion, amendment, or vote was recorded at the hearing.

Next steps: the hearing officer will issue a written decision within 45 days; the application remains under review until that decision is posted.