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12-year-old hit by car waits 1 hour for Baltimore EMS ambulance

“We are simply overrun with calls,” Rich Langford, president of the Baltimore City Fire Local 734 union said

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Photo/Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734

By Rachel Engel

BALTIMORE — A 12-year-old boy was forced to wait more than an hour for an ambulance after being hit by a car.

A fire crew responded to the call immediately and rendered care, but due to delays, the child had to wait 58 minutes for an ambulance transport, according to Rich Langford, president of the Baltimore City Fire Local 734 union, said.

“Baltimore, we are one of the busiest EMS, fire department systems in the country,” Langford told Fox News. “We are simply overrun with calls. We have staff shortages. We have unit shortages. It just took an obscene amount of time to get a transport unit to the scene to help this little boy get to the hospital.”

Langford said staff levels are at a critical point.

“Our department needs help. We need more money to help us get through this,” he said. “We have been understaffed for years now. It’s finally caught up to us. We have over 40 vacancies in our EMS division alone.”

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