LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — Twin City Ambulance came to the decision to end service to Lockport at the end of January. The choice has since sparked an ongoing debate as to how or if Lockport will be able to provide its own ambulance service to the community.
"If you guys don't help yourselves we can't help you," said one EMS Worker during the session. "You have to do something with your paramedics. A lot of communities don't have paramedics. So please, get your ambulances up and running and let the rest of the county have their safe area."
Many volunteers expressed frustration due to the amount of times their crews are called out to Lockport and they're left to leave their own communities short handed.
"We have a hard enough time trying to get people to volunteer in our own communities and to pull us," said another EMS Worker during the session. "I'm 85 and still responding."
Common Council members say the City of Lockport has plenty of volunteers but only two ambulances which is not enough to cover the entire city.
"Twin City said in their letter that they will supplement but they cannot be the main," said Michelle Roman, Mayor of Lockport. "They need us to use our two with our paramedics on them and they also negotiated to have two firefighters on the ambulance instead of three like in the previous times to reduce the over time costs."
"As a city resident I would absolutely love to see out city get our ambulances back and provide the services and as fire chief absolutely the same," said Chris McClune, Fire Chief South Lockport Fire Company. "We can't afford to leave our district to protect somebody else's."
Council members said the hold up isn't due to a matter of politics but residents and volunteers aren't buying it.
"We're just here to represent all of us on our side because we're concerned that this is coming from a side that you don't know at all but we're the ones that might save your life one day," said EMS Volunteer.
