Gunpowder Chronicle posted on July 30, 2007 5:49 PM | Rating:
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There's something fishy in Hereford these days, and I have to wonder if the North County News is really interested in all the facts. It doesn't seem so from this story.
Detailing how Hereford Volunteer Ambulance Association is adding a second medic unit to help cover calls, North County News reporter Pat van den Beemt repeats the oft-heard myth that Hereford Ambulance is "all-volunteer". The truth is actually different. Baltimore County actually pays "volunteers" to staff the station so that coverage exists on many shifts. That's right. The Baltimore County Fire Department doesn't detail a regular career crew to the station, but instead pays volunteers to cover shifts. That is hardly "all volunteer".
And the number of calls that they actually do make -- as opposed to the number they are called for -- is always a serious question.
While they claim their coverage area extends to the Pennsylvania line, I can tell you that I *never* see any ambulance OTHER than Medic 60 (a career unit stationed in Parkton, in a trailer no less) rushing up York Road.
And according to posters over at www.thewatchdesk.com, Hereford Ambulance misses a lot of calls, and adding a second rig won't correct this.
Why didn't Pat van den Beemt ask these questions?