Insurance needed for ambulance crew

ORRINGTON – The town’s volunteer ambulance service must come up with its own insurance by Nov. 1 or could face the possibility of having to cease operations, a municipal official confirmed Wednesday.

Until a month ago, local officials believed that the town’s insurance policy with the Maine Municipal Association covered members of the ambulance crew, Town Manager Dexter Johnson said Wednesday. The town has since learned that this is not the case.

James Goody, president of the ambulance squad’s board of directors, couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

Johnson said it was his understanding that the group was looking into acquiring the necessary insurance coverage. He said that the squad had not approached the town with a request for assistance but that he expected the town would do what it could to help. He said the town’s five-member Board of Selectmen would discuss the matter during their next meeting, set for Tuesday, Oct. 15.

According to Johnson, the insurance issue came to light shortly after school opened this fall.

During an educational demonstration at Center Drive School, members of the community’s volunteer ambulance service accidentally dropped a pupil from a stretcher. The child reportedly bumped her head and was taken to the hospital for examination. Johnson said it was his understanding that the child was bruised but not otherwise injured.

When the town submitted a claim to its insurer, local officials learned that while the ambulance itself and its garage are covered by the town’s liability policy, the coverage does not extend to the ambulance crew, a private, nonprofit volunteer organization.

That’s because Orrington’s ambulance operation is not a municipal department. While the town provides the ambulance, the building that houses it and an annual contribution toward operating costs, the service is staffed and managed by volunteers.

For shifts the Orrington crew is unable to staff, Orrington has mutual aid agreements with the ambulance services in neighboring Brewer, its primary backup, and Bucksport.

While the MMA agreed to cover the claim submitted on behalf of the girl, Johnson said, insurance officials determined that the service was not eligible for coverage.

The MMA gave the town and its ambulance crew until the end of October to obtain a separate policy for ambulance service members, Johnson said. As of Nov. 1, the municipal insurance policy no longer will cover them.

“The town has embraced the ambulance service,” Johnson said. He expected the financial support would continue in the future. He said the town was in the process of exploring long-range solutions to its public safety needs, but had not come to any conclusions.

Though that avenue had not yet been discussed, Johnson said the emergency medical squad’s own legal counsel would probably advise the group to cease operating, at least temporarily, in the event insurance was not in place by the first of next month.