Panel to look into time for ambulance response

Firefighters respond until ambulance companies arrive.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Council's traffic and safety committee will look into allegations that private ambulance services are not responding quickly to calls.
Patty Colian told council Tuesday night that she had called for an ambulance at her home last week. Her diabetic son was having medical problems.
Colian said the ambulance company did not arrive within nine minutes as required by city ordinance.
She said she knew of other calls where ambulances took 29 minutes and 40 minutes to arrive. She did not identify the ambulance companies.
Emergency calls in Salem go to the fire department, which notifies the ambulance service. Firefighters, who are trained first responders, then go to the scene until the ambulance arrives.
Colian told council that citizens would be in trouble without the help of the firefighters. She is a supporter of the fire department in the dispute over the formation of the Quaker Community Fire District.
Colian said of the response times, "This is unacceptable."
She said that under a city ordinance, late responses can result in a minor misdemeanor charge.
What's happening
Council is divided over the formation of the fire district with Perry Township. The district would eliminate both the city and township fire departments.
A judge last week rejected a request from the city's outside counsel, James D. Kurek of Roetzel & amp; Andress in Akron, for additional funds in the legal battle. The judge has stayed the district from becoming operational until the State Employment Relations Board hears the case.
Outside counsel are attorneys other than the law director who generally specialize in one area of law.
City Auditor James Armeni told council he wanted to defend Law Director Brooke Zellers after a newspaper article criticized the city for using outside counsel in the fire district dispute.
Ongoing practice
Armeni defended the use of the outside firm, saying the city has been hiring such firms for 18 years. He said the city, has used various law firms that specialize in areas of the law for projects ranging from issuing bonds to labor negotiations.
Armeni said of the city's annual cost, "We're in six figures."
Zellers said he appreciated Armeni's explanation.
Zellers also told council he would begin reporting on funds that come to the city because it has an officer assigned full time to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
As a result, the city gets a share of confiscated money or auctioned items.
The city has received $170,637 that it has used for equipment and supplies, including buying police cars. Zellers told council the money more than covered the officer's salary and benefits.
wilkinson@vindy.com