Canfield Fire Chief Don Hutchison said there is a new way that could ensure life-saving transportation for people in Canfield if an emergency helicopter usually provided by private company STAT MedEvac in North Lima isn't available.

This comes after the Local 4507 fire union voiced concerns to the public on social media about the partnership, as the union head Shane Uhrain said he believes it could become a burden to taxpayers if Canfield crews are providing resources for a private company, while Hutchinson said the partnership means Canfield taxpayers can get the emergency services they pay for. 

Hutchison said the idea came about two weeks ago when his crews responded to a Canfield resident with a critical need for treatment at a Cleveland hospital, but no local ambulances were flying helicopters because of the weather.

He said it took six hours before the patient arrived in Cleveland, and this prompted a discussion between the company, fire board, Hutchison and the union. 

In an attempt to avoid this scenario, Hutchison said the fire department has since entered a partnership to assist STAT MedEvac, which operates emergency helicopters for Canfield residents.

This allows off-duty Canfield fire personnel to be offered overtime to provide an ambulance ride if needed to Canfield residents to hospitals in Cleveland or Pittsburgh, along with transporting the STAT MedEvac crew to provide the patient with treatment.

He predicts Canfield assistance would occur up to four times a year. 

"This is citizens of the community who have paid for these ambulances," he said,  "who have paid for this service, who paid for the overtime."

Canfield Professional Firefighters Local 4507 Union head Shane Uhrain said that he worries a small, flexible partnership could turn into a bigger responsibility for the department, and that offering up the only spare ambulance truck of the Cardinal Joint Fire District could put the rest of the community it serves at risk if other agencies aren't available.

"Our main concern is to take care of residents of Canfield. Anything going out of a hospital to definitive care is a problem, but that shouldn't fall on Canfield Fire Department," Uhrain said, "Our main concern is this will grow from three to four times to 30-40 per year and not having our personnel available."

The fire department currently mans three ambulances, and the fourth is a spare.

Uhrain said the department has needed to use its spare ambulance for emergency situations around 60 times in 2022, and is hesitant to spread resources in any capacity during a time when emergency crews nationwide are trying to keep ahead of a staffing shortage. 

"Every year has been tracking increase before the previous year, so the calls are not slowing down by any means," Uhrain said, "Ultimately it's still putting our residents at risk because that's our only ambulance for off-duty personnel to staff for a response in case of an additional emergency. We have paramedics at Canfield and not all of our mutual aid partners are trained to the same capabilities."

The compensation to Canfield Fire Department for this assistance is $4 per mile plus $500 per trip. Hutchison said the partnership is flexible and doesn't require commitment.

"If you're a taxpayer, and there's a fourth ambulance sitting here, and you need to get to Cleveland for an emergency right away and have critical care people [STAT MedEvac staff] transporting you there... or, you can wait five or six hours until a mobile unit can arrive to Cleveland," Hutchison said.