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'No EMS available:' Durham had no ambulances for a period of time on Independence Day

At one point Monday night, there were no ambulances available in all of Durham county.

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By
Monica Casey
, WRAL Durham reporter
DURHAM, N.C. — At one point Monday night, there were no ambulances available in all of Durham County.

During that time, three people had to wait half an hour for emergency services. Those emergencies were not life-threatening, the deputy chief of Durham’s EMS operations told WRAL News.

Gordon Smith said between 7:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., Durham EMS had between zero and three ambulances available. With 10 ambulances on duty, EMS responded to 144 calls on July 4. He said the time period of no ambulances to respond at all was brief.

Smith believes the county needs more ambulances, because call volume keeps increasing.

Jerry Ray listens to scanner traffic most nights. On Monday, he heard a discussion of a lack of ambulances.

"The dispatcher said, she advised there are no EMS available at this time," Ray said. "It was 7 o’clock, a little after, and I’m thinking, 7 o’clock, in my opinion, the night hasn’t really gotten started yet!"

Durham County Commissioner Heidi Carter said she hadn’t heard about Monday night’s issue, but she is aware of the growing need for services.

"Our staff has also let us know though, that with the population increase in Durham, that there’s an increase in call volume that goes along with that, and that it is their belief that our current staffing will need to be expanded, as well as the minimum number of EMS units that we have on the front line," Carter said in a phone interview.

Carter also said the county has replaced seven ambulances over the past year with more to come.

"The current schedule that we’re on led the commissioners to approve funding in this past budget, for the 2023 fiscal year, funding for four replacement vehicles and one chassis remount."

WRAL News reached out to other agencies in the Triangle about how common this kind of situation is.

Orange County EMS Director Kirby Saunders said this is an issue everywhere – and while it’s unusual to have no ambulances available, it’s not unheard of right now, due to COVID, staffing shortages and a higher call volume.

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