by Megan Schiffres
HEATHSVILLE—Citizens on September 20 spoke in favor of a second paid emergency services crew to serve Northumberland County. The comments came during a board of supervisors meeting.
“I made it probably from my house less than a quarter mile before I coded. Before I flatlined. Before I died. And they brought me back,” said George Lichtenberger.
Last January, Lichtenberger experienced a heart attack and was technically dead for a full two minutes before a Northumberland County emergency services team arrived to revive him.
“Obviously if y’all didn’t have the paid paramedic team, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,” Lichtenberger said.
Lichtenberger expressed concern that if more than one emergency were to occur simultaneously, the county’s single paid squad would only be able to respond to one 911 call at a time and could not abandon a less serious call in order to rescue someone in more dire need of assistance…