RUMFORD – Local firefighters will no longer respond to medical emergencies unless asked to by Med-Care Ambulance medics.

That does not include response or mutual-aid response to structure fires or vehicle accidents.

“They are no longer first responders to ambulance calls,” interim Town Manager Len Greaney said Friday. “It’s to save costs and put the responsibility back on Med-Care, whom we pay to provide such services.”

Previously, town firefighters – several are trained emergency medical technicians – would respond to emergencies to treat or stabilize patients prior to Med-Care’s arrival.

Greaney attributed the change to rising fuel costs and a June town meeting vote that reduced the fire department’s operating budget.

He said he met with acting fire Chief Richard Coulombe on July 1 to work out the change in duties, effective that day.

Oxford County Regional Communications Center dispatchers in Paris were told to no longer send Rumford firefighters to ambulance calls, Greaney said.

Coulombe said Friday that he still must work out a contract with Med-Care stating which calls Rumford Fire Department will cover as first responders.