Massachusetts Town Stung By College Ambulance Decision

BRIDGEWATER - Before the recent override vote, Bridgewater Fire Chief George Rogers warned that failure would mean fewer firefighters on the job and one less ambulance, extending the response time for emergencies. Now, that warning has backfired.

It sent Bridgewater State College officials scrambling to provide their own emergency services, so that they would no longer have to depend on the financially shaky town to protect students. The college decided to hire a private ambulance company to respond to medical emergencies on campus, a service the school has gotten from the local Fire Department, and for which the Fire Deparment has always been reimbursed.

As a result, the town will lose up to $100,000 a year in ambulance revenue at a time when it can least afford to do so.

And, as it turns out, the college could have continued using town services without worry. The threatened cuts in staff were avoided. Even though the override failed, selectmen - in a turnaround last week - voted to reduce the public safety budgets by the relatively small amount of $66,000 each, getting the money from the library, recreation, and senior center budgets.

Rogers said Wednesday he probably won't need to make any layoffs under this new financial scenario. Two unfilled firefighter positions will simply be left vacant. Both ambulances can be kept on the road and the satellite station will remain open, Rogers said. The budget still has to be approved by a Town Meeting vote, set for Oct. 9.

But as far as college officials are concerned, what the town does now won't matter.

"We are moving forward with the [private] ambulance project irrespective of what happens in the town," said Bryan Baldwin, spokesman for college president Dana Mohler-Faria. "We haven't booked it, but it's in the works. It's definite. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of our students. Our decision to procure our own ambulance and take other measures will only enhance our ability to provide emergency care and keep our students safe."

Bridgewater State has been given an ambulance by Fallon Ambulance Service in Quincy that will be staffed by EMTs already on the campus police force. They will act as first responders to student emergencies. College officials are arranging full medical service with a private ambulance company.

It is not out of the question that the town would continue to serve the town in some manner, but it would be considerably less than in the past.

All of which means the town will get fewer calls, and less reimbursement.

Last year, the Bridgewater Fire Department responded to 200 emergency calls at the college, Rogers said. Some calls were false alarms, and others were fire-related. But each medical emergency that resulted in transports to area hospitals produced an average of $800 in insurance payments for the town, money the department will now lose.

Rogers was surprised and angered Wednesday to hear of the college's decision. "This is news to me," he said. "I was told last week they were still considering their options. This goes against everything I was told."

Rogers warned the college will get a lower level of medical care under its new plan. "We supply paramedics that are only two minutes down the road," Rogers said. What's the estimated time of arrival "for a private ambulance coming from Quincy or Brockton?"

Rogers also noted the college will continue to rely on his department for fire service. "The problem is, if we're part of their infrastructure, they should support their infrastructure," he said.

"We do fire drills for their dorms and all their fire prevention," Rogers said. "My deputy chief was on campus 30 hours a week all summer, with all their new buildings.

"We were down there every day and the town was paying the expense."