Castle Rock adds crew

Castle Rock Ambulance Service is hiring a full-time crew to help improve its service to the city's residents.

Ambulance service director John Taylor said the move won't create a privatized ambulance service, but will ensure its first ambulance is staffed and ready at a moment's notice. Currently, the service operates strictly as a volunteer operation, with ambulance calls being handled by people who rush up to the ambulance station, then staff an ambulance to respond to the emergency they're being called on.

The call volume Castle Rock deals with has gone up during the past several years. Taylor said the service has responded to more than 1,000 calls this year, with the service often being required to send two of its three ambulances out at the same time. He said they've occasionally had all three ambulances out at the same time.

"It was getting to be more than the volunteers could handle," Taylor said.

With many of the volunteers working full-time jobs outside of their duties as emergency responders, difficulties also came up when trying to schedule volunteers.

Taylor said keeping a full-time group at the ambulance station will allow for faster response times, while allowing the volunteers to run the other two ambulances as backup if the need arises.

Taylor said the full-time crew is expected to start Dec. 1. Taylor said the addition will benefit the community immediately.

"When you call an ambulance, there will be someone there 24-7," he said.