Lisbon Falls council workshop backs short-term status quo on EMS while asking finance committee to map long-term costs

The Lisbon Falls Town Council on Tuesday discussed whether to expand the Lisbon Fire Department’s role in emergency medical services, including moving firefighters to an advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT) level and potentially supporting patient transport, while agreeing to maintain current coverage for the next year.

Deputy Chief Bob Robitel of the Lisbon Fire Department told the council that the fire department already ‘‘is covering what Lisbon Emergency cannot’’ and argued that the arrangement saves money by filling gaps in coverage. "Basically, what we're doing is actually saving the community money by covering the calls that they are not able to a 100% of the time," Robitel said, describing the current cross-agency backup system.

Councilors and staff discussed several approaches: keeping the nonprofit Lisbon Emergency as the primary transporting service with Lisbon Fire serving as a supplemental responder; upgrading Lisbon Fire personnel to the AEMT level so they could start IVs, give fluids and administer medications in the field; or pursuing a transporting model similar to neighboring agencies. Melissa Adams, an EMS Region 2 representative from the state, told the council she had seen other Maine communities adopt regional transporting or fire-based supplemental transport models and commended local collaboration. “I wanted to be here to commend the work that you're doing,” Adams said, and she outlined examples of hybrid regional systems.

Several councilors pressed for fiscal clarity. Councilor Charlie asked the panel to frame the trade-offs plainly: "What are we giving up to achieve this today?" He and others emphasized that adding transporting capacity or more full-time staff implies long-term funding choices that could reduce spending on other priorities. A councilor cited operational data showing that in 2025 there were 137 medical-emergency calls where both fire and EMS responded, or "less than 1 every couple of days," as part of the cost-effectiveness conversation.

Officials described operational safeguards to avoid leaving the town short on fire coverage if firefighters were on ambulance calls. Chief Bouchard (speaking in his role as fire chief) said the department logs all calls and that mutual-aid and handoff protocols would be used when transporting personnel are engaged. Robitel and others said any move to grant Lisbon Fire more clinical authority should be paired with joint training and explicit contract language so both organizations ‘‘work together to provide the best care.’'

By the end of the workshop the council signaled consensus to "proceed with what you're doing" for the next year while pursuing two follow-ups: (1) work toward an approach that could include AEMT training or limited transport within the operating budget, and (2) task the finance committee to produce a long-range cost analysis and budget recommendations. The council did not vote on changing service levels or approving a transport contract; the only formal action recorded was a 7-0 roll-call vote to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 p.m.

Next steps: the finance committee will be asked to quantify 10-year cost implications and to bring back options the council can use in the upcoming budget process.