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South Adams County Fire District ambulance supply cut in half beginning Saturday

South Adams County Fire District ambulance supply will be cut in half
Posted at 5:59 PM, Apr 28, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-28 19:59:57-04

Beginning Saturday, the entire South Adams County Fire District region will depend on only two ambulances to show up to emergencies on time.

Augdon Greening, the union president representing the fire district, says those ambulances will be forced to cover nearly 75 square miles, comprising of about 50,000 residents in Commerce City and portions of Henderson, unicorporated Adams County, Brighton, Thornton and Denver.

Greening puts the blame on Northglenn Ambulance, the company contracted to provide ambulance crews to the district.

"We've been informed that starting April 30, they would be reducing their coverage from a standard of four to five ambulances to a standard of two," Greening said.

If those pair of ambulances are tied up on certain situations, the district will be forced to dispatch ambulances from other cities further away.

"That means longer response times to get to your loved one who's having a heart attack," Greening said.

The prospect of longer wait times has residents like Anthony Allen concerned.

"That's an extreme concern. [Response] time is always kind of been an issue, even when you have enough people on staff," Allen said.

Rick Lindsey, CEO of Northglenn Ambulance, emailed Denver7 stating that there are two sides to the story, but did not provide a statement, despite multiple requests.