Imagine the ambulance service in your town was shut down and taken over by the fire department. That is exactly what could happen here in Decatur, Illinois. On November 18th, 2014, many employees and supporters of Decatur Ambulance service gathered at the Civic Center and sat in on a Decatur City Council meeting. Ryan McCrady, the city manager, released his plans for the 2015 city budget. In this budget McCrady made it possible for Decatur Fire department to acquire equipment that would be found on an ambulance. This equipment would also allow the department to start providing some emergency transport services. McCrady believes that this investment will eventually pay for itself. Allowing the fire department to take over transporting patients …show more content…
These employees work on three different shifts; red, black and gold, at five different posts. They are the only emergency transport service in Decatur. The national average for response times is nine minutes. (Welton, Jason. Personal Interview. 4 Dec. 2014). The state of Illinois requires that all crews are out of the station and on scene within six minutes of receiving the call. There are instances where response times may be shorter or longer due to the location of the calls, weather or instances beyond the crew’s control. In 2013, Decatur Ambulance Service responded to almost thirty thousand calls in Decatur and the surrounding …show more content…
In 2013, the fire department received a total of eight thousand two hundred and sixty calls. If they took over the ambulance service then their call volume will increase greatly. On top of that the volunteer departments around the area do not have their own ambulance, a majority are also not trained at a higher level than a First Responder. The most they can really do is provide basic first aid and allow members who have a larger scope of practice to handle the situation and assist them in areas inside their scope of practice or do what they can until the ambulance arrives on scene and the Paramedics take over. They rely on Decatur Ambulance service. Quick response times are especially important in stroke, heart attack and trauma cases. There is no guarantee that there would be an ambulance close enough or available to reach these small towns in an emergency. The increase in call volume has the potential to cause issues within the city. If one station receives a transfer to a hospital out of town, who will cover their station until they are able to return? What happens when there is a structure fire and another call comes in? There are just too many what ifs when it comes to Decatur Fire taking