Aurora Rescue Squad joined the ranks of paramedic squads in Beaufort County on Monday.

After an inspection Monday morning by representatives from the state Office of EMS, the squad was declared official.

For a town that is 30 to 35 minutes away from the nearest hospitals — Carolina East in New Bern and Vidant Beaufort Hospital in Washington — the move is a good one for the residents of southeast Beaufort County, according to Aurora Rescue Squad’s Capt. Samuel Williams.

“We’ll be able to give (patients) treatment in the field,” Williams said. “It will definitely be beneficial.”

It’s also a practical move on the squad’s part, saving time, money and duplication of efforts. In the past, Aurora Rescue Squad EMTs would sometimes be first responders to calls when paramedics were ultimately needed. Responders would either have to wait for paramedics to arrive or have a paramedic intercept meet them along the route to the hospital, when their services might have been needed elsewhere. Now sending one truck and crew is all that’s necessary. Williams said the skills and knowledge accrued by the paramedics, combined with introduction last year to pit crew CPR, will be especially helpful in the survival of cardiac arrest patients.

“It makes the chances higher for somebody in the field. It could save someone’s life,” Williams said.

Aurora Rescue Squad is a combination of paid and volunteer emergency medical responders, 13 of which are now paramedics. Williams said the paramedic-level service is funded by billing collections and tax dollars received from the county, and no tax increase was necessary to take the squad to the next level. Over the past two months, the squad has purchased the required equipment and medications, and has sent two of its EMTs to paramedic training, in addition to those hired.

Coming with the new classification, a grant from PotashCorp-Aurora will fund the purchase of 10 AEDs (automated external defibrillators), to be carried in the personal vehicles of Aurora Rescue Squad’s staff members, in case they can respond faster to a cardiac patient than the rescue squad.

“That’s going to definitely increase survival — having the AED get there before the truck,” Williams said.