Submitted by Clark Judge.
(Nov. 5, 2021) — When the Killingworth Ambulance Association responded to a call last month, people at the scene were confused. The vehicle that showed up wasn’t Killingworth’s customary red box ambulance. It was white. And it didn’t read “Killingworth.” It read “Clinton.”
“I thought Killingworth was coming here,” someone said.
“We are Killingworth,” said EMT James Fretz, who drove the truck.
The confusion was understandable. For the third time in the past two years, the Killingworth Ambulance Association had to borrow a vehicle. And for the third time in two years, it borrowed it from the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department.
The reason: Killingworth’s ambulance was sent to Eastford Fire and Rescue to repair a malfunction with its rear air-bag suspension, and the date of its return was uncertain. In need of a replacement, the KAA turned to a familiar ally for help.
Clinton responded by sending Ambulance No. 942 to Killingworth on Sept. 20. It wasn’t returned until Tuesday … or six weeks later.
“We’re more than happy to help,” said Jason Lewellyn, Clinton’s Deputy Chief of EMS. “Our third (ambulance) is used in the case of extreme emergencies. Our call volume justified our lending it out because it really doesn’t hurt us. More importantly, we have such a good relationship with our neighboring towns. For the residents of Killingworth and our town, being able to respond in your own town is always beneficial.”
That makes sense, especially with the volume of calls the KAA experienced the past year. From October, 2020 through September of this year, it answered 459 – a 21 percent jump from the previous year (379). Then it responded to 49 in October with the Clinton loaner.
“The members of our department always want to help,” said Lewellyn. “We hope that if it were our time of need, we’d be able to reach out to (the KAA). I think of it is as a mutual relationship.”
That’s because it is. Clinton and Killingworth are members of the Valley Shore Mutual Aid Association, each willing to cover for the other if it is unable to assemble a crew for an emergency. But Clinton takes it a step farther: It covers for Killingworth if it’s missing an ambulance — a practice that, according to Killingworth’s Chief of Service Mike Haaga, has been going on since he and John Battista, Llewellyn’s predecessor in Clinton, had a conversation approximately 10 years ago.
Neither is sure when or where it was, but each remembered what was said.
“I told him, ‘We’re having trouble with our ambulance,’ “ Haaga said, “and he said, ‘I’ve got three. I’ll give you one.’ “
So he did. And so Clinton has ever since.
“To be brutally blunt,” said Battista, “we never considered it an inconvenience at all. We considered it all a part of our Mutual Aid agreement. When we had an available automobile, it made sense to have it in Killingworth, manned by Killingworth people. That’s how the system works. They would do the exact same thing for us.
“It does not seem to be a favor or anything like that to us. It’s just the way it is. I’ve been in the department 50 years, and it’s been like that from Day One. It’s not something we do to draw attention to ourselves. It’s just the way it’s done. It’s who we are. It’s the same way with Killingworth. Killingworth has always been there for us, and it always will be there for us.”
