Champion EMS personnel and others responded effectively on Feb. 3 to a scene in south Van Zandt County after being dispatched to its first emergency medical call since being stationed at the Edom Volunteer Fire Department two days earlier, Mayor Barbara Crow said.

“The Champion unit was in the Van area when the call came in,” she said. “They have a Champion rover unit, and it was dispatched from Canton along with Edom. There were six Edom Volunteer Fire Department first responders on scene in less than 10 minutes. Five minutes later, the Edom unit was there. We had no difficulty with communications.”

A contract between Van Zandt County commissioners and Champion EMS of Longview last year allows for one ambulance to be stationed in Edom. The deal was reportedly reached after officials initially sought to deliver ambulance service to unincorporated portions of the county.

Edom’s other fire station is at Callendar Lake, west of town.

“Edom Volunteer Fire Department has several first responders who live out in the Hickory Hills and Callendar Lake area,” Crow said. “They always respond and have the patient ready for EMS when they come from Edom.”

Emergency calls are received through the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department and routed to Champion EMS, which dispatches first responders depending on the nature of the calls, Crow said.

She said Champion EMS went online at 7 a.m. at the Edom Volunteer Fire Department.

“And that night, we had our monthly Edom Volun- teer Fire Department members meeting. Paramedic and EMT were at that meeting, plus two of their supervisors. They went over the policies and procedures they had and how we needed to work together with the first responders. They let us tour their new quarters, and they are very nice.”

Champion EMS is a division of Trinity Mother Frances Hospital.

It serves 13 counties and 18 communities, including southwest Van Zandt County, and operates 31 ambulances and employs 261 people.

Champion EMS Director Arnie Spears did not immediately return a message seeking comment.