WATERVILLE, Maine — City councilors have rejected a request from the Waterville Fire Department to hire eight additional emergency medical workers to staff a third ambulance, following the recent closure of Northern Light Inland Hospital.

The proposal was brought forward amid rising concerns about longer response times and stretched resources after the hospital halted services on May 27. Waterville firefighters now have to transport patients to other hospitals in Augusta or Skowhegan, increasing the time crews spend on the road.

"We run around 5,700 calls a year, making us the seventh busiest department in the state," Waterville Fire Chief Jason Frost told NEWS CENTER Maine before the hospital's closure. "That's roughly the same demand as in South Portland."

During a meeting Tuesday ni

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