CHENANGO COUNTY – There is no easy answer to the county’s ambulance shortage, one long-time volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician says.

“It’s going to take some creativity,” said Glenn Degear, a 32-year volunteer with the Preston Fire Department. “But it’s great that the county is looking at the situation and giving it attention.”

Last Tuesday, in response to the announcement that Superior Ambulance – a private company that handled the bulk of emergency calls in a number of rural townships – would no longer be serving Chenango County after Oct. 25, county Fire Coordinator Matt Beckwith suggested the Board of Supervisors consider implementing a “fly car” system that would add manpower to struggling volunteer emergency medical squads.

“This is a very good starting block toward solving the EMS crisis,” Beckwith said. “There are a lot of logistics left to be worked out. But the question is: Right now, how do we provide the best possible care for the people who are hurt out there in their homes or lying in the street? Right now, this is the best it’s going to get.”

The fly car

Under Beckwith’s plan, three county-employed paramedics would drive two “fly cars” – sport utility vehicles – to emergency calls throughout the county and staff volunteer ambulances on the scene.

The fly cars would run 60 hours a week from two strategic posts in the northern and southern halves of the county. The program is estimated to cost $273,160 annually.