Drowsy driving caused several ambulance crashes in Maine over the summer.

Paramedics recognize patient safety always comes first, but the safety of their crews is just as important.

As Taylor Kinzler found out, a Howland Fire Chief has made policy changes to build a better culture, both in the department and on the road.

"We have a little better than 20 that we employ here. Our shifts typically are 24 hour shifts. They're 7 am to 7 am."

The Howland Fire Department has doubled their call volume. They're are on pace to exceed 1,000 emergency calls this year.

"A tremendous amount of our business here per se is inter-facility transfers."

Most come in overnight.

"I'm responsible primarily for making sure that we get the patient from Point A to Point B."

And take crews all the way from Portland to Fort Kent.

"My typical shift can range anywhere from 12 to 24 hours."

But a majority of the staff don't live in the area and are coming from away to fill shifts in Howland.

"Most all of the employees here work a second job. So they could be coming here already fatigued."

"On a given day, a paramedic could spend 12 or more hours in the back of an ambulance. But Howland has created a culture here where it's ok to say you're tired and need additional crew."

"Anything after 3 pm that's going to put us through the night, typically we'll just take an extra person with us. It's better than just sending 2 people and having them struggle to stay awake."

"If I didn't know that I had that, it would make my job that much more difficult. You know, what good are you to help others if you can't help yourself, you know? It's that kind of thing."

Communication is key and will eliminate the risk of drowsy driving.

"You need to speak up. We all have to be looking out for each other."

Helping Howland Fire Chief Josh McNally and his crew get back to what's important: Taking care of the community.

"I think that we're building something unique here for a small town."

"The chief realizes that we're only human and he's going to work with us to make sure that we can, despite that, be the best that we can be."