CORTLAND Fire department sets a call record

The fire department can still manage its increased service with no added employees.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- The city fire department has experienced its busiest October in its history, with ambulance calls being the most numerous.
"We darn near did 50 percent of our normal volume," Fire Chief Bill Novakovich said Monday.
During October, he pointed out, there were 141 calls for service. Of that number, the ambulance was dispatched 104 times in the city and 11 others were calls for ambulance service outside the city.
This compared with a total 85 calls for all types of service, including fires, in October 2004.
The statistics have been kept since 1995 when Cortland and Bazetta Township split into separate fire departments.
This year the department is 56 calls ahead of the total runs made in 2004, with a month and a half left in the year.
Novakovich said the city department at this point can manage responding to calls with the current staffing level.
Number on duty
The department has 10 full-time employees, including Novakovich, who are all qualified paramedics. It also has some part-time employees, but not all of the part-timers have the training to serve as paramedics.
If there is an increasing increase in calls for service, more manpower "would be a consideration," the chief said.
One reason for the increased ambulance calls, Novakovich speculated, is because of the increasing number of assisted living complexes in Cortland. He called attention to Cortland Healthcare Center, Cortview Village, Lake Vista of Cortland and Creekside Commons.
These facilities generate a number of calls to take residents to area hospitals. Also, Novakovich believes that shorter stays by patients in area hospitals result in them having to return to medical facilities more frequently.
The chief said accidents also contribute to the use of the department's two ambulances. Paramedics are most commonly called to the curving road along state Route 305, between state Routes 11 and 46; and on the curves north of the city along Route 46 in Bazetta Township.
Revenue sources
Novakovich explained that the department has two sources of operating revenue. A 6.76-mill tax approved by voters in 1995 that generates between $600,000 and $700,000 annually. Also, $150,000 is generated through third-party insurance billing.
The total of the two sources make up the fire budget that pays for all fire department costs such as personnel, equipment and maintenance.
The patient's insurance company is billed after the department goes on an ambulance call. In cases involving city residents, when the cost of the ambulance service exceeds what the insurance company pays, the fire department writes off the difference because city taxpayer money supports the department.
In the cases of nonresidents, when the cost of the service exceeds what the insurance company pays, the patients remains liable to the fire department for the difference, the chief said.
yovich@vindy.com