The Peabody ambulance crew is struggling to find emergency medical technicians to be on call at all hours, Marion County Emergency Medical Service Director Steve Smith told county commissioners Monday.

An ambulance service needs one EMT-Basic to go on every call, he said. The other responder can be a first responder.

Three Peabody residents have signed up to take an EMT-B class beginning in the fall, but the class will not conclude until May 2011.

If the county is consistently unable to fill shifts with a volunteer ambulance service, the day may come when a full-time, paid service must be considered. Staffing ambulances with paid workers could be very costly, Smith said.

Through seven months, EMS revenue is up about $40,000 compared to 2009 because of higher rates. Commissioners approved writing off $2,238 of uncollected bills.

Ambulance calls continue at a slower pace than in 2009. In July, ambulances responded to 84 calls. The Marion ambulance unit responded to 32 calls; Hillsboro, 25; Peabody, 12; Florence, 12; Tampa, two; and the backup unit, one.