At the Jan. 19 meeting of the Northshore Fire Department Board of Commissioners, K.C. McCoy and John Hougland, representatives from American Medical Response (AMR), donated $2,148 to the Northshore Fire Foundation.

The foundation was established by the Northshore firefighters to help those in need within the local community in ways that they are unable to while performing fire-department duties. John Borrow, the founder of Northshore Fire Foundation, accepted the donation.

In 2007, local fire departments contracted with a single provider for basic life-support transport services. American Medical Response was the successful bidder. As part of the contract, AMR provides a charitable donation of up to $20,000 each year — a share of which goes to a charity of each participating agency’s choice. The Northshore Board of Fire Commissioners designated the Northshore Fire Foundation as the department’s charity of choice.

According to Northshore Public Information Officer Terri Jones, the Northshore Fire Department has enjoyed a positive working relationship with AMR for many years that is enhanced by this contractual agreement. Residents have benefited from reduced ambulance-response times for ambulances. Fire department out-of-service times have decreased and some low-income residents have received transport fee reductions.