TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – Amidst a statewide EMS crisis that is slow to be addressed by state lawmakers, the Fairview Fire District, which operates ambulances in addition to fire trucks, claims to be operating an EMS system that benefits those in need. Response times are critical when EMS personnel are dispatched to calls with patients exhibiting heart emergencies or strokes. The American Stroke Association estimates that an average of 1.9 million brain cells are lost every minute a stroke goes untreated.
Using Dutchess County EMS data for 2026, the Fairview Fire District had a response time of five minutes and six seconds in the first quarter and five minutes and nine seconds in the second quarter. In the first six months of this year, Fairview is leading EMS providers in Dutchess County with the fastest times for first-arriving ambulances.
“The mathematics of a medical emergency are unforgiving,” said Fairview Fire Chief Justin Bohlmann. “When a resident calls 911, our cross-trained firefighters and EMTs are deployed immediately from within their own community. We don’t rely on mutual aid from towns away to provide our primary EMS response,” he continued, noting that the personnel and ambulances are already in the fire district.
Bohlmann believes the Fairview approach to EMS will help reduce the EMS crisis. “While our current model excels at providing safe, reliable emergency response and transport to definitive care today, we recognize the gaps in our existing capabilities,” he explained. The chief said he is looking forward to improving the system by entering into shared services to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) throughout the Fairview Fire District.
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