A minute may not be much time, but in a medical emergency it can mark the difference between life and death.

When Marion’s ambulance service switched from an on-call department to one that is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week emergency response times dropped from three to five minutes to less than 60 seconds.

“We’re providing great service now and the public is really pleased,” Fire Chief Thomas Joyce said. “We have the guys up and responding to calls in under a minute every time.” The move was needed to meet state regulations.

Assistant Fire Chief Alan Denham said residents and police have noticed the change. Denham heads the ambulance department and managed the switch from using strictly on-call staff to full coverage, which happened on Dec. 9.

“This is a positive change for the town,” Denham said. “We are now getting on the scene at the same time, or sometimes before, police arrive. They know it will be us on the scene instead of a crew from an outside town, and that's a big relief.”

Residents should be aware of the changes too, Lt. Ryan Miller said. In the past, slow response times might have left people reluctant to call 911 for medical treatment. That should no longer be a fear, he said. The upgrade was funded with $232,740 approved at Special Town Meeting in October.

With the funds, a total of 24 first responders were hired on a part-time basis to meet guidelines set by the state’s Office of Emergency Management. They cover the station in 12-hour shifts between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. If the department didn't meet the response guidelines, its license to operate would have been revoked on Feb. 28, 2014.

Miller said officials from the office of emergency management were “very pleased” with the changes.

The department will have to secure a provisional license, which will cover the department for another six months. After that, Miller said the service should no longer be in danger of losing its license.

“The issues that we did have are pretty much nonexistent at this point,” Miller said.