KNOXVILLE,
Tenn. (WVLT) -- A new video is prompting Loudon
County authorities to ask for an investigation into Rural Metro.
Surveillance video recorded at Greenback Fire Station No. 3 on August 9 seems to show a employee standing by to finish a cigarette during a call.
Attorneys say an ambulance was called to respond to a patient with breathing difficulties - but that the female employee in the video finishes a cigarette before getting in despite dispatch saying the ambulance was already on the way.
From the time the call came in to the time the ambulance actually left, four minutes had passed.
Rural Metro has issued a response to the video:
Rural/Metro of East Tennessee was in receipt Wednesday, Aug. 20,
of notification via Kramer Rayson LLP of an alleged incident
involving Rural/Metro ambulance services in Greenback, Tenn.
Rural/Metro has repeatedly requested but not yet been given access
to full video footage of the incident in question.
At this time, Rural/Metro is actively investigating the allegations
and seeking additional information.
Rural/Metro welcomes any opportunity to address concerns directly
with a municipal customer such as Loudon County - particularly if
that communication can take place directly with municipal officials,
where the sources and documentation of incidents can best be
gathered quickly and then verified, with appropriate action taken in
a spirit of responsiveness and quality service.
Having served Loudon County via contract since 2003, Rural/Metro is
the largest emergency service provider in East Tennessee and the
only nationally accredited ambulance provider in the region by the
Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), the "gold
standard" for the ambulance industry. Rural/Metro of East Tennessee
is comprised of more than 700 employees serving Knox, Blount,
Loudon, Polk and Franklin counties.