By CLEARY’S NOTEBOOK NEWS

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 14, 2011)—WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE NEW AMBULANCE SERVICE? A city firefighter, who wished to remain anonymous, was asked if anyone from the James Administration has talked to them about Lourdes Health Systems taking over the city ambulance service. The city awarded a three-year contract to Lourdes in February.

The firefighter said, “Absolutely nothing has been said. We have no idea where they will be stationed, who they will report to, or how our operations will be affected. We don’t know if this means more layoffs or if they will keep the remaining guys on to keep the company full. Even if we don’t lay off any more guys, we still don’t comply with the 2-in-2-out federal regulations. They will tell you we do, but they don’t consider the whole picture in terms of each guy’s roles and responsibilities. We’ve been at 5 for a long time, same as 7/4/02, and we know how that turned out. It was hard enough managing with 7 guys at times, but we managed. Our volunteer ranks have decreased, and some volunteers aren’t responding at all (not knocking them). So our backup, which usually took 6-10 minutes, is now anyone’s guess as to how long it will take. Collingswood’s response depends on their staffing, which was cut. Mt Ephraim asked to be taken off automatic aid. Westville and Bellmawr sometimes don’t respond. Then there’s the mess involving Lipsett and Chief Hoffman from Washington Twp., which probably helped convince the mayor and council to proceed with layoffs and the privatization of the ambulance. So our guys come in every day just waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. Mark my words, this mess is going to lead to someone getting hurt or killed—it’s inevitable.