Champaign Council on Fire and Ambulance Services

Following up on previous discussions, the Champaign City Council has moved towards streamlining emergency calls. From the News-Gazette today:

Champaign council approves merging fire department, ambulance services
The Champaign City Council on Tuesday approved integrating local ambulance services with the Champaign Fire Department.

Noting how his department "sometimes pumps more oxygen than we do water," fire Chief Gary Ludwig proposed integrating with Arrow Ambulance and Pro Ambulance, which switch off working in Champaign every month.

Medical emergencies made up 62.71 percent of all Champaign Fire Department calls in 2017, according to a city staff report. Firefighters often act as first responders before an ambulance arrives with advanced aid equipment and transportation to a hospital.

The council's unanimous vote establishes a clear chain of command for 911 calls, with the fire department getting "overall scene command." Ambulance personnel will respond to an "incident commander" picked from the department, according to a city staff report.

Once arriving at the scene of a call, the command structure puts ambulance personnel in charge of all patient planning and decisions.

More at the full article here.