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Harnett Rescue Squad Needs Emergency Assistance

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HARNETT COUNTY — When you are in trouble, you expect EMS crews to come to your rescue. Now, the people who help you in an emergency are experiencing their own kind of crisis.

"They are not getting the service that they really need," says squad board member Marty Collins. "We had a school bus accident about two weeks ago. Fortunately, no one was injured."

But even with three ambulances parked at the Harnett Rescue Squad, any accident with multiple, serious injuries would be too much to handle.

Only two paramedics are on call. Volunteers would normally get behind the wheel of another ambulance to help out, but the number of volunteers has gone from 30 to zero in eight years.

Board members say the lack of pay and time commitment are part of the problem. EMS training takes more than 100 hours.

Without volunteers, the response time for a backup ambulance is longer. EMS has to call dispatch, which then sends the next closest available ambulance.

If you would like to volunteer, you can call the Northern Harnett County Rescue Squad at(919) 552-1119.

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