Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
It seems simple. West Virginia State law requires all county commissions to provide EMS service to their counties. Despite this law, Pocahontas County Commission only recently, in August 2024, started providing EMS services with the Northern County Ambulance Service.
County commissioner John Rebinski took on the project last year and said the county needed two ambulances in the northern end and two in the southern end.
The commission agreed and used hotel/motel tax and COVID relief funds to start service in the northern end.
But that’s just one part of the county.
Of the 13 ambulances in Pocahontas County, only one is provided by the county commission. The others are located at Bartow-Frank-Durbin Fire and Rescue, Cass Fire Department, Shavers Fork Fire and Rescue, Marlinton Fire and Rescue and Pocahontas Memorial Hospital.
Up until May 22, Hillsboro Fire Department, under the name of Little Levels Ambulance Squad, had an ambulance and served the most southern part of the county. The squad disbanded and donated its ambulance to the county for the county service.
Now all southern calls are under the coverage area of Marlinton, which is already spread thin, like all EMS services in the state.
After almost a year of providing service to the northern end, the county has yet to make an agreement to add service for the southern end – something that has Marlinton Fire Chief, EMT and paramedic Herby Barlow frustrated.
Barlow said he was told by the commission that Hillsboro and Marlinton would have to come to an agreement about the service before it could be put in place.
“We met with Hillsboro, and we decided since Marlinton had more providers – we are an A-list service and they’re not – it would fall under the Marlinton license,” he said. “So, we came up with a plan and it was agreed upon by the members of Hillsboro and Marlinton.”
The plan included maintaining J.P. Duncan and Nicole Brock as full-time EMTs/paramedics, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition, there would be positions filled for two 12 hour shifts.
Barlow took the plan to the commission in December 2024, and he thought it was going to be enacted January 2025.
It wasn’t.
“All we were asking for was the money for the salaries,” Barlow said. “We weren’t going to do the benefits or anything like that. We were going to use a Marlinton ambulance. We were going to use our building up next to MonPower. It’s got a two-bedroom apartment –they’d have a place to stay. The crews would be located there.
“We went back to the January meeting thinking they were going to sign it, and we could get started, and they said, ‘no,’” he added.
It seems the main issue is that Rebinski wants the southern service to be under the county license instead of remaining under the Marlinton license as Marlinton and Hillsboro agreed.
“All the ideas that we presented, John now likes, but he still wants us to fall under the county, and I said, ‘well, if we’re going to do that, I want benefits for the southern end just like the northern end,’” Barlow said. “So, it’s going to cost them even more.”
Ambulance service has been an issue for several years now due, in large part, to the lack of volunteers. This is why the paid service was first suggested.
“If you go look at a firehouse, your average age is mid-thirties or older,” Barlow said. “People aren’t wanting to do it. Volunteering nationwide is becoming a thing of the past.
Volunteers have saved – nationwide – hundreds of thousands of dollars providing the care, providing the service, saving lives, saving property. It’s just dwindling away.”
When the cost and time of becoming an EMT and paramedic is taken into consideration, it only seems natural that those going into that field want to be paid a wage. And not just any wage – a livable wage.
For a lot of EMTs and paramedics who do get paid, that’s not their only job. They have to take on a second job or they work for two or three squads to make a living wage.
“Why should people have to work multiple jobs?” Barlow asked. “Starting at the 911 center. These are important jobs. We need to pay those people because they are the ones who take the calls and get the right people moving.”
Barlow explained that although Marlinton has 12 certified providers on its roster, not all those EMTs/paramedics are available at the drop of a hat.
“J.P. and Nicole catch Monday through Friday daytime because they’re getting paid to do that,” he said. “Jennifer [Barlow] and I take a huge number of calls after hours. Nicole takes quite a few after hours. Haley Spencer and Hannah Burks, when they’re not at college, they’re relatively active.
“The others – I’ve got Doug Lantz – Doug’s got a business to run,” he continued. “Travis [Cook] is the chief at Shavers Fork right now; he also runs with Marlinton. He’s a provider. Brad Cassell, works up there; he’s a provider. Steve Tritapoe and I work up there and provide down here.”
Barlow said Rebinski told him he has people interested in working for the southern service, but he didn’t specify who they were.
“J.P. and Nicole told him that if Marlinton closes, they’re going to have to have a job, but they’d rather stay with Marlinton,” he said.
With Barlow’s plan that he presented to the commission, there would have to be a squad of 10 to 12 people, including Duncan and Brock. The work schedule would be two on for 12 hours, with two 12 hour shifts a day. This would also cover Saturdays and Sundays.
“John doesn’t think we need a 24/7, and I totally disagree with that,” Barlow said. “If we’re going to do it, we need to have someone that can be out the door within minutes. I think we need a 24/7 crew in both ends of the county and it needs to be funded by the county commission.”
The main issue, it seems, is the license issue. Barlow said he does not understand why the southern service would have to be under the county license instead of the Marlinton license.
The Marlinton Rescue Squad was founded in 1955 and has been serving the county since.
“Why do we have to fall under the county license?” he said. “We’re a Class A rated squad through the state of West Virginia. I’ve never had any issues. We’ve never lost our license. I’ve never had my license taken away for a period of time because I did something wrong.
“We’ve been a proven squad,” he continued. “Why can’t the county supplement that squad instead of taking over?”
Those questions have yet to be answered, and Barlow is tired of asking them.
“I’ve told John, ‘I’ll provide the ambulance; I’ll provide the building,” he said. “It’s there. I just need the funding and the people to make it work.”