Our History

old picture of ambulance

Emergency Medical Services in the Town of Winthrop began in April 1978, following several years of contracting with a private service. After a thorough planning process that took several months, the Town Council approved operation of the Winthrop Ambulance Service to commence on April 1, 1978.

Service commenced under the direction of Chief Donald Chase, utilizing two van-type ambulances and a hand-full of local volunteers. At this time, Winthrop began to contract with surrounding communities to provide emergency medical services (Fayette, Mount Vernon, Readfield, and Wayne).

In time, the service and it's call volume grew,  necessitating the need for more personnel and upgraded licensure. During the early 1980's Winthrop enjoyed the services of many experienced Advanced Life Support Providers, who helped the service become the first volunteer service in the State to be permitted to the Paramedic level.

In July of 1986, Winthrop Ambulance was permitted to the Paramedic level under the guidance of Director Jay Bradshaw. During this time the service converted to two Type III ambulances, stocked with the latest equipment.

In 1990 the service's physical plant was upgraded to add living quarters and full facilities to accommodate permanent part-time personnel. Permanent part-time paramedics and a full-time driver soon followed, and continue to this day. October, 1996 saw the service's administration change to a Full-time Director, and the service became an independent department of the Town of Winthrop.

In 1997 Winthrop EMS hired its first full-time Paramedic, Deb Aho. Alumni (or current members) of our service include such prominent EMS figures as Ham Robbins, Jay Bradshaw, Patrick Cote, and Kevin McGinnis.

Today, two primary ambulances are staffed 24 hours a day with a crew consisting of an EMT and a Paramedic.  A third ambulance is staffed during the day and performs both emergency and non-emergency calls. This year proved to be the busiest in the history of the service, and plans are in the works to increase staffing further.

The service moved into it's new station in the old Winthrop Health Center in November of 2008. The current staion allows for 3 crews to live and work in the station 24 hours per day. The new station is 8300 square feet, compared to the 1800 square feet at the former station on Town Hall Lane.

We aim to provide first class service to our entire coverage area. Stop by and see our station and please, be safe.

ambulance station

We are very fortunate to have a state of the art facility where our operations are based.