FAYETTE COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) - Some Fayette county residents are concerned one ambulance won't be enough coverage at night.
The area's ambulance provider, Northstar EMS, has made some adjustments to it's fleet schedule that will leave the county with one ambulance working throughout the evening and another crew on-call.
Northstar representatives say the changes took effect last weekend, although some Fayette residents believe the scheduling changed at the beginning of October.
Northstar reports an average of one call between the hours of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm in the majority of the rural counties in their coverage, including Fayette.
Prior to the recent changes, Northstar had two ambulances scheduled for overnights in Fayette. Because of the lack of call volume, officials made the decision to shift resources to be more efficient.
Northstar officials say when the working ambulance receives a call, the on-call ambulance staff will immediately come in to be prepared for any emergencies. However some residents are concerned about the amount of time it will take the on-call crew to be ready to respond.
"Minutes are passing. And patients are waiting for treatment,"says Freda Hinton, a concerned resident who has been posting information about the changes to the ambulance service on Facebook. "I don't want to start any trouble," Hinton explains. "I just think people have a right to know."
According to the Fayette County coroner, a seven year old boy was fatally injured in a 4 wheeler accident over the weekend in the city of Berry.
One Fayette resident obtained the 911 call in which the ambulance was sent from Winfield which she says is approximately 40 miles away from the boy's location.
Although the boy was already deceased when his parents found him, locals are worried ambulances may not be able to respond quickly enough in the minutes that really count.
Northstar EMS says they will continue to monitor the call volume in all of the counties that they serve.
Representatives say they will make changes and adapt to situations to continue to provide the best and most efficient service possible in the area.
