New EMS professionals come to Sam Bass Fire Department within District

Residents within the Brushy Creek MUD will now benefit from faster emergency response times.

On Oct. 31, two new Emergency Medical Services, or EMS, professionals began a permanent residency at the Sam Bass Fire Department Station No. 3., located at 2351 Great Oaks Drive.

At a Nov. 2 ceremony held at the station, Captain Chris Jones, training officer for the SBFD, said the addition of two new EMS professionals is already paying off.

The national standard for emergency response times is eight minutes or less, Jones said, adding that having the EMS staff in-house from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. every day of the week will shave time off that number.

“We all know time is of the essence when it comes to calls like that,” Jones said.

Sam Bass Fire Department Chief James Shofner echoed Jones and said while EMS staff have always been there for the community, every second counts.

Even though EMS staff operated in the area prior to this personnel shift, Shofner said there were residential pockets that added vital minutes to response times because of where they were located. This move has helped mitigate that situation, he said.

Shofner added that due to the rapid influx of new residents to the area, the strategic move will provide faster response times to many more people overall. 

“The coverage is still there,” he said. “The residents didn’t lose anything.”

Precinct 3 Williamson County Commissioner Valerie Covey said the EMS addition to Station 3 reflects a wonderful collaboration between the Sam Bass Fire Department and the Williamson County EMS. She added that enacting the shift did not require funding from the county, the District, or the fire department.

“I’m very excited, not only for these units working closely together, but also for the citizens that we all serve,” Covey said.