2023 total calls

This page will highlight monthly run numbers involving Sacopee Rescue. This is based on the number of times we receive a call during the month. Most calls are handled by us in our towns, a few go to neighboring towns if we are previously tied up and some are calls we make to other towns around us. This data is shared with the Towns' Select Boards each month and will be displayed here to give you an idea of how busy we are. Please contact us for more information on our calls.

Note that we cannot divulge specific information about individual calls to protect the persons involved in those calls.

 Number of Calls: 87

Number Covered by Sacopee Rescue: 78

Mutual Aid: 9

Mutual Aid Given: 5

Paramedic Intercepts: 2

Covered by back-up unit: 12

Transported: 41/78 49% no transport (State figures 23.0% last 2 Qtrs.)**

Advanced Life Support: 82%

Town Breakdown:  Runs per Town (includes mutual aid received) 

26  Cornish 

21  Hiram

25  Parsonsfield 

13   Porter

3     Baldwin

1      Denmark

1      Gorham

Top Reasons for Calls: 

1. Medical     33

2. Short of Breath    9

3. Cardiac      7 

4. Falls       6

5. Motor Vehicle Crashes     4

6. Fire/Police Standby    6

7. Canceled       4

8. Psych    3   

9. Trauma     1

Average Response Time (Tone to Arrival at Scene) 11.9 minutes*

*Note: Response times include everything from the time we get the first “tone” to the time we arrived on scene. Times range from 2 minutes to 25 minutes depending on the distance from the station. Times also include the time it took to get out of bed and into the ambulance.

Mike Hatch, Chief

Number of Calls: 54

Number Covered by Sacopee Rescue: 52

Mutual Aid: 2

Mutual Aid Given: 1

Paramedic Intercepts: 5

Covered by back-up unit: 8

Transported: 29/52 45% no transport (State figures 26.0% last 2 Qtrs.)**

Advanced Life Support: 94%

Town Breakdown:  Runs per Town (includes mutual aid received) 

12  Cornish 

10  Hiram

14  Parsonsfield 

17   Porter

1 Baldwin

Top Reasons for Calls: 

1. Medical  15

2. Short of Breath 11

3. Cardiac  6 

4. Fire/Police Standby  6

5. Canceled  3

6. Motor Vehicle Crashes    2

7. Medic Alert  2

8. Falls         1

9. Psych    1 

10. Seizure  1 

Average Response Time (Tone to Arrival at Scene) 12.1 minutes*

*Note: Response times include everything from the time we get the first “tone” to the time we arrived on scene. Times range from 2 minutes to 31 minutes depending on the distance from the station. Times also include the time it took to get out of bed and into the ambulance at night.

Mike Hatch, Chief

 Number of Calls: 80

Number Covered by Sacopee Rescue: 80

Mutual Aid: 0

Mutual Aid Given: 0

Paramedic Intercepts: 4

Covered by back-up unit: 17

Transported: 41/80 49% no transport (26% of actual patient contacts)**

Advanced Life Support: 73%

Town Breakdown:  Runs per Town (includes mutual aid received) 

21  Cornish 

21  Hiram

19  Parsonsfield 

19   Porter

Top Reasons for Calls: 

1. Medical  20

2. Short of Breath   8

3. Falls  8

4. Fire/Police Standby  6

5. Psych  5 

6. Deaths    5

7. Cardiac   4 

8. Motor Vehicle Crashes     2

9. Medic Alert  2

10. Seizure  2 

Average Response Time (Tone to Arrival at Scene) 11.6 minutes*

*Note: Response times include everything from the time we get the first “tone” to the time we arrived on scene. Times range from 2 minutes to 31 minutes depending on the distance from the station. Times also include the time it took to get out of bed and into the ambulance at night.

Mike Hatch, Chief

Number of Calls: 80

Number Covered by Sacopee Rescue: 73

Mutual Aid: 7

Mutual Aid Given: 0

Paramedic Intercepts: 6

Covered by back-up unit: 7

Transported: 38/73 48% no transport (26% of actual patient contacts)**

Advanced Life Support: 90%

Town Breakdown:  Runs per Town (includes mutual aid received) 

21  Cornish 

20  Hiram

17  Parsonsfield 

22   Porter

Top Reasons for Calls: 

1. Medical  22

2. Short of Breath   8

3. Falls  8

4. Fire Standby     5

5. Motor Vehicle Crashes    4

6. Cardiac  3 

7. Medic Alert  3

8. Psych  2 

9. Deaths    2

10. Public Assist  3 

Average Response Time (Tone to Arrival at Scene) 10.95 minutes*

*Note: Response times include everything from the time we get the first “tone” to the time we arrived on scene. Times range from 2 minutes to 31 minutes depending on the distance from the station. Times also include the time it took to get out of bed and into the ambulance at night.

Mike Hatch, Chief

Number of Calls: 80

Number Covered by Sacopee Rescue: 77

Mutual Aid: 3

Mutual Aid Given: 3

Paramedic Intercepts: 7

Covered by back-up unit: 15

Transported: 43/77 44% no transport (26% of actual patient contacts)**

Advanced Life Support: 83%

Town Breakdown:  Runs per Town (includes mutual aid received) 

19  Cornish 

20  Hiram

19  Parsonsfield 

19   Porter

2 Baldwin

1 Limerick

Top Reasons for Calls: 

1. Medical    22

2. Falls  8

3. Cardiac  8 

4. Short of Breath       7

5. Psych  6 

6. Canceled  5

7. Fire/Police Standby    4

8. Motor Vehicle Crashes    4

9. Standby  3

10. Deaths    2

Average Response Time (Tone to Arrival at Scene) 11.5 minutes*

*Note: Response times include everything from the time we get the first “tone” to the time we arrived on scene. Times range from 2 minutes to 31 minutes depending on the distance from the station. Times also include the time it took to get out of bed and into the ambulance at night.

Mike Hatch, Chief

What is Mutual Aid?

Once in a while our ambulances will be on other calls when someone calls 911. We will have the dispatchers in Augusta contact the closest available ambulance service to fill in for us on that call. On occasion, another ambulance service will be in the same boat and we will get asked to travel into their town to cover their call. This cooperative effort has been used since the beginning of EMS. Give them a special "Thank you" for being there to help out.

What is a Paramedic Intercept?

It would be truly great is everyone in EMS was a full fledged Paramedic. The truth is, the greater number of EMS first responders are EMTs or Advanced EMTs. Paramedics are able to use a higher class of drugs and they can do higher level assessments. While almost 90% of all calls can be handled by EMTs and AEMTs, some others do require the services of a Paramedic. If we don't have a Paramedic on duty, we will call ahead and pick one up from another service on the way to the hospital.  That is at no additional to the patient, we pick up the charges. We also offer Paramedic intercepts for other services in need.

What is a back-up unit?

Sacopee Rescue has made every attempt to grow with the needs of our communities. Our run volume had gone up 35% in the last two years from about 650 calls per year to over 1000 calls per year. Our calls also have a turn around time of about 3 hours a piece as no hospital is close to here. We now have a second ambulance and crew working from 9-5 Sunday through Friday. That is what we call the "Back-up Unit". We are in hopes of expanding the hours for the second ambulance over the next year. For now, we are covering more calls than ever and do not need mutual aid nearly as often as we have in the past.

Why are there so many falls?

You may be familiar with the old commercial for the lady that has "fallen and I can't get up". We get a lot of fall calls. They are one of the most common calls we get. People fall for so many reasons. The slip and trip are the most common and as people age, the get back up is a little bit harder. to do. Most of those people are not really injured and, after we make sure they are alright, they usually stay home.

It's the ones that don't have a good reason that we really take notice of. If you have someone at home or at work that doesn't know why they are on the floor, you need to call us and they should probably take a ride with us to the hospital. 

On the other hand for those who slipped or tripped or fell on the ice, we don't carry x-ray glasses so, if it hurts, it's worth an x-ray at the Emergency Department. 

Why are no transport numbers so high?

There are so many reasons people call us. Sometimes they are just worried and need to be checked out. Sometimes we get called to accidents and no one was hurt or they are "gone on arrival". Sometimes we get false alarms or we just need to stand-by for the Police or the Fire Department. In most of those cases, either there is no patient, they decide to stay home, or go by car to the hospital. It's all in a day for us. We respond when we are called. The number I put in these reports is for EACH time we get a call. The State tends to look at it as the number of people who call, we treat, and they don't go with us to the hospital. That number is much, much lower. You will see me reporting 40% or so "no transport". Our actual State numbers are 23% of all patient contacts refused transport.