A Hermon ambulance company that has been receiving 911 dispatch calls without paying into the county tax may soon have the service terminated.
Hermon Volunteer Rescue & First Aid Squad, Inc., founded in 1968, had partnered with the town of Hermon for years until a wrongful death lawsuit caused the town to end its contract in June.
The ambulance service is a private entity, which means it does not pay into the county tax to fund 911 dispatch, Penobscot Regional Communications Center Director Chris Lavoie said. Ending the contract with Hermon now means the rescue company is receiving service for free, and funding dispatch is expensive, Lavoie said.
The ambulance service will not be dispatched by Penobscot Regional Communications Center starting Jan. 1, 2024, unless there is a contract agreement between the two entities, Penobscot County Commissioners approved during a meeting Tuesday.
“We shouldn’t get in the habit of dispatching for any private service that isn’t paying in to the county tax,” Lavoie said.
The change would not affect Hermon residents. The town currently uses Northern Light ambulances to respond to emergency calls, and the fire department was hiring four emergency medical technicians to help respond to calls as well.
The ambulance service did not respond to a phone call or email Tuesday.
Hermon ended its contract with the ambulance company after a wrongful death claim was filed in November 2022. The town signed a 10-year contract with the rescue service in 2015.
“The Town of Hermon has recently changed rescue service vendors and is currently in the process of bringing these services inhouse,” Hermon Finance Director Michael Chammings said.
Tyson MacArthur, 34, died Sept. 4, 2021, at his sister’s home in Hermon of acute fentanyl intoxication. Veronica MacArthur of Hermon filed the claim against the ambulance service, the town of Hermon that funded the squad, and Clarence J. Merchant II, 47, of Hampden, a former emergency medical technician for the Hermon rescue service.
Merchant lost his EMT license when it came to light that he had lied about his criminal history. He was convicted in 2016 of three counts of theft by deception, one count of attempted theft by deception and one count of making or aiding a false tax return.
The wrongful death lawsuit is ongoing, Veronica MacArthur’s attorney, Owen Pickus said.
