The Round Table
departments
Does your department provide any type of emergency medical service for the people you serve? If so, just what type of service is it? And how is this service funded (taxes, fund raising, etc.?)
Mickey Jackson, Chief, Springdale, Ark.: Our department does provide emergency medical services for our 22,000 citizens plus 10,000 more in the rural area surrounding Springdale. All our firemen are now required to become EMT’s during their first year on the job. We also have eight certified paramedics with two more currently in training. Engine companies routinely respond with the Squads on EMS calls; a paramedic squad is also assigned on every full assignment fire response. Our paramedics do fight fire.
Since EMS is a division for the fire department in our city, it is funded via the fire department budget, with no additional tax earmarked for this service. However, the public support for this division is so great that we frequently receive significant public group and individual donations. One of our two current paramedic squads was completely purchased and equipped via public donations. We look on EMS as being an asset to our department, making our firemen better firemen, and making our fire department a much more valuable entity to our citizens. They seem to look on it the same way.
Earl King, Chief, Greendale, Wis.: The Greendale Fire Department does provide EMS for the 18,000 residents. The department operates two ambulances and all personnel are required by state law to successfully complete the 81-hour D.O.T. course and pass the written test prepared by National Registry prior to being issued their state license permitting them to serve as an emergency medical technicians.
Our EMS program is funded almost entirely from taxes. The village of Greendale in January, 1979, instituted a service charge for all ambulance conveyances. A charge of $25 for residents and $50 for non-residents generates approximately $12,000 per year. These funds have been designated specifically for the fire department equipment replacement fund and are to be used to purchase new ambulances and ambulance equipment.
We presently run 700-800 rescue calls per year. The charge is only made when the patient is conveyed.
We do not have paramedics on our end of the county as yet, but this may be a possibility in the near future. Milwaukee County supports a county-wide paramedic program with a plan that provides approximately 75 percent funding and the local municipality picking up the remaining 25 percent of the costs.
As we are located very close to hospitals in our area and generally have the patient in the hospital within 10-15minutes, the people of our community appear to be well satisfied with this service and have not really pushed for a paramedic unit.
Don R. Young, Chief, Sparks, Nev.: The Sparks Fire Department is a paid department, manned by 55 personnel. We protect approximately 46,000 residents in an area of 12 square miles. Our department provides emergency medical service to the public by dispatching the nearest engine company to calls for emergency medical response. These calls are also answered by one of two private advanced life support companies that provide service in this area. Our mission is to provide initial life support and to assist the private paramedics in the delivery of emergency medical care. While it is not a department requirement, approximately 50 percent of our fire suppression personnel are EMT’s. All of our personnel are required to be CPR certified and they are all trained in advanced first aid through a modular program coordinated by our training division. The private paramedic companies are required by law to have a minimum personnel assignment in each unit of at least one certified paramedic and one EMT. Our personnel work very efficiently with the paramedics using team concept methods that have been developed through training and experience. The cost of providing engine company response is in our normal operating budget, however, the cost of the private paramedic service is borne by the consumer.
Forrest R. Goodrich, Chief, East Longmeadow, Mass.: We provide an emergency first aid station at the fire station. We also provide a rescue unit to give on the scene first aid and rescue. The department does not have an ambulance, so we do not transport.
All department funds are provided by taxation. Basically, East Longmeadow is a call department with full time coverage during the day time hours only.
Melvin J. Rachel, Chief, .Jamestown, N.D.: Our community is serviced by a privately owned ambulance service. The fire department has four EMTs. All fire fighters have completed a course in multi-media first aid. We have eight qualified scuba divers for water recovery. The department is staffed by seven full paid personnel and 25 volunteers. We respond to a ten square mile area of about 16,500 population, and have a mutual aid agreement with the rural fire department who are responsible for “out of the city” fire protection to about 20 townships.
J.S. Cheek, Chief, El Dorado, Ark.: The El Dorado Fire Department provides emergency medical service to the city of El Dorado and Union County, Ark. through the El Dorado-Union County Fire/Rescue unit. This unit is composed of 20 volunteers, stationed at the central fire station. These volunteers are qualified as first aiders only. The fire department provides emergency medical service through 12 emergency medical technicians, employed as full time fire fighters who augment the volunteers when needed and also render service during a fire, accident or a disaster.
Emergency medical transportation is provided by the El Dorado Police Department. None of the policemen assigned to ambulance duty are qualified emergency medical technicians. They have first aid and required technical training only.
Raymond R. Smith, Chief, Rome, Ga.: The Rome-Floyd County Fire Department provides rescue services for Rome and Floyd County, Ga., but does no transporting of victims to medical services in the area. The department operates two rescue vehicles with equipment for extrication, water rescue, dragging operations, and other necessary equipment for assistance in stabilizing and packaging of victims of incidents for transport. These rescue vehicles are manned by certified emergency medical technicians and work in full cooperation with the emergency medical services in the area with assistance in all phases of rescue to furnish our citizens with a complete service.
The fire department services including rescue, are tax supported and are included in the total operating budget of the RomeFloyd County Fire Department.
Jerry W. Carter, Chief, Clovis, N.M.: The Clovis Fire Department is responsible for emergency medical service in an area of 1404 square miles. With an average response of 6.4 incidents daily all 66 personnel are required to become 81-hour emergency medical technicians. There is a set charge per run regulated by the state, however this amount is inadequate to cover the costs of the service. Therefore, the majority of the funding is provided by the local tax base.
H.L. Walter, Chief, Great Bend, Ks.: The city of Great Bend Fire/EMS provides basic life support (a state of Kansas Type II Ambulance Service) to the city and four townships. We operate out of two stations, with four type II ambulances.
Our department is both paid and volunteer covering approximately 56 square miles. We are provided funds from general operating budget. We charge $35 per patient and a $1 a mile per patient from city limits. The city is also subsidized $25 per patient being transported by the county. We have never had an EMS fund raising project for donations.
Jack D. Weinz, Chief, Edmonds, Wa.: Our department offers basic life support service. We have one aid car and have budgeted for an additional unit for 1980. We work closely with an advanced life support service (paramedics) who answer all calls where their service is needed. The advance life support is manned by civilian paramedics and is dispatched along with the fire department aid units from four surrounding departments. The paramedics have been operating since February, 1979, funded during that time mainly by donations and fund raising projects. This service will continue if the voters approve to impose an additional regular property tax levy—this money is to be used only for the provision of emergency medical care or emergency medical services.
