The Town of Hampton, along with the Towns of Eastford and Pomfret, are moving forward with the signing of a contract with KB Ambulance Corporation, Inc. of Killingly, to provide ambulance transport services for residents and visitors to the three towns. KB has been providing services to the Town of Hampton since February 1, 2020, for an interim trial period. The contract will be for a three-year period beginning July 1, 2020. As of the end of May all three towns have signed the contract; the final step will be the signing by KB.

The terms of the contract state that the three towns will pay KB $51,600 per year for emergency transport services. KB’s personnel, vehicles and equipment will be housed at the Pomfret Emergency Operations Center located on Route 44 next to the town’s DPW garage. The Town of Pomfret will provide KB with two bays for emergency vehicles, an office, and an unfurnished bunk room at their emergency operations facility.

KB will provide full time paid EMTs and EMRs on a 24 hours, seven days per week schedule. The KB employees will be managed and supervised by the company’s full-time paid administration and an operations manager.

Certainly, the most important question on the minds of Hampton’s citizens is response time. Hampton’s residents have been accustomed to an ambulance located at the town’s firehouse on Old Route 6 West. The new location will be in Pomfret, albeit relatively near the Hampton border. During the interim trial period KB responded to 12 to 15 calls per month in Hampton with an arrival time of between 10 to 20 minutes. It should be noted that during the interim period KB was responding mostly from their facility in Killingly, a farther distance to most areas in Hampton than will be had from the new facility in Pomfret.

With all the change coming, there is a comforting note in that Hampton’s Fire Department will continue to respond to all calls in Hampton using its squad of volunteer EMTs and EMRs, the only change will be that KB will provide the transport to appropriate and designated emergency medical facilities.

Peter Witkowski