To the editor:

We were not aware that the Town of Barrington operates two rescues trucks 50 percent of the time. We were made aware of this when our 4-year-old son Nathaniel required a 911 call which resulted in an ambulance rushing him to Hasbro’s emergency room trauma unit.

First responders Lieutenant Edward Owens and firefighter Zachery Toronto arrived to our residence in a fire truck. Our son was having extreme difficulty breathing, was beginning to lose consciousness, and was lifeless.

As the first responders started to treat Nathaniel, they realized they needed to move him quickly to the hospital.  However, in those terrifying moments, we were forced to wait.  

The issue? One of Barrington’s ambulances was at RI Hospital and the second ambulance was parked in the fire house because the department didn’t have enough firefighters on staff to operate it. That horrifying evening, we thought our son was dying right before our eyes as we waited in a state of panic for the mutual aid rescue truck to arrive.

Barrington relies on mutual aid in instances like ours. The responding department was Kent Heights in East Providence. Let us share this emotional and real fact: when you are in an emergency situation waiting for an ambulance, 1 minute feels like 1 hour.      

Barrington’s Fire and Police Department operate under a very tight budget compared to the Barrington School Department. We want to educate the community from our experience with Nathaniel that in an emergency situation, Barrington’s first responders are not staffed properly.   

Barrington cannot afford to not support our first responders. It is unacceptable to lean on the town’s financial budget when we’re talking about people’s lives. We think it is time to take a look at the municipality budget in Barrington as new developments are planned for senior living and our schools continue to receive 80 percent of the town’s operating dollars.  

We have met with Chief Bessette and Chief LaCross to discuss our traumatic experience with them as we continue to struggle to understand why our son, who was suffering, was forced to wait for mutual aid.    

We have met with the new town manager, Jim Cunha, to address the concerns we have with these departments running short staffed, due to the financial budget.

Nathaniel was released from Hasbro ICU within a couple days as he was recovering from his diagnosis of Croup. We brought him to both the Barrington Fire Department and Kent Heights Fire Department to thank the firefighters personally and for the added bonus to touch the trucks!   

The life-long dedication of our local firefighters and the real life experiences they encounter are truly eye opening. The heart wrenching minutes we lived through, they are confronted with daily. We send a heartfelt thank you to our first responders, our firefighters, for their courageous service they provide to the citizens of our community.

The police and fire department staffing needs to be reevaluated for the safety and security of the residents of Barrington. Relying on mutual aid is not the answer, especially when one of our residents is struggling for life!    

Where do you stand on this topic if this were your loved one?  

Matthew and Luciana Amaral 

Barrington