KEWASKUM, Wis. — Starting in 2025, the West Bend Fire Department and the Kewaskum Fire Department will work even closer together.
West Bend Fire will provide paramedic-level ambulance transport services to both organizations' EMS response areas, manage EMS billing for both departments, and supply support and resources to Kewaskum’s non-transport EMS.
The two departments entered into a memorandum of understanding in May. The communities are about 15 minutes apart.
Fire Chief Les Norin told TMJ4 that they were finalizing signatures for the agreement, which would last six years.
“Like many communities, Kewaskum is suffering from a severe shortage of volunteer emergency medical technicians,” said Kewaskum Village Board President Fuzz Martin in a May release.
That, paired with an increase in calls for service and rising operational costs, has forced the Kewaskum Fire Department to be creative in how it continues to provide services.
In November, at least six communities turned to voters for funding EMS services.
Watch: Kewaskum Fire Dept. partnering with West Bend Fire to tackle EMS challenges
“It’s a sign of the times,” said Matt Wiedmeyer. “Volunteer services are becoming a thing of the past, I think. Just how our society is—people are having to work a couple of jobs just to make ends meet—there's less time for people to volunteer their services. I think this is a good compromise.”
David Pike also supports the collaboration. His family has had to use EMS services in the past in the Kewaskum area.
“It will relieve a lot of stress for paramedics out here with transporting,” said Pike.
TMJ4 spoke with several community members who did not want to appear on camera. Some were unaware of the agreement, while others believed it was a good idea.
Chief Norin noted that Kewaskum's volunteer EMTs will no longer have to go to the fire station first to get an ambulance and then respond to the scene. He said they can now respond directly, saving time.
According to Chief Norin, the West Bend department receives about 4,000 calls per year, compared to Kewaskum's approximately 500. Of those 500 calls, he said about 350 result in transportation to the hospital.
“That’s about one extra call per day,” Norin said.
Kewaskum is required to have two certified EMTs available 24/7 to staff its ambulance. That has proven to be a challenge, leading Kewaskum to reach out to West Bend.
He said this agreement is a good example of how sharing resources can help.
“To hire full-time staff to cover around the clock, they would have to pay people to be there for just that one transport per day, which would be harder to justify. Instead, we could share some of those added personnel, and that's exactly what we did,” Chief Norin said.
West Bend is currently working to hire nine firefighters.
As for response times, both chiefs told TMJ4 that residents should not notice a significant difference. Ambulance transport should remain consistent, according to Chief Norin.
“There could be some marginal response time,” Norin said. “It depends on the time of day.”
The Kewaskum Fire Department will continue to provide non-transport EMS services to its response area.
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