Is Hawthorne Hiring EMT's?

[Guest partyrock]

A friend recently mentioned that an EMT from Empress had informed him there were going to be paid EMT's arriving in Hawthrone soon. Is this true? If so, kudos the the leadership for recognizing a problem and acting on it. How is this going to affect the FD's budget? Do they bill for EMS? Are they on their way to full paid EMS? (last question, I promise) Are these EMT's available for mutual aid or are they dedictaed to the community?

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

They should hire Transcare personell if they do anything. Valhalla Vac already has some part timers from Transcare and the Medics are from Transcare so why would Hawthorne go with Empress? I know why because they are Hawthorne and have to do everything different.

[helicopper 1,050]

A friend recently mentioned that an EMT from Empress had informed him there were going to be paid EMT's arriving in Hawthrone soon.  Is this true?  If so, kudos the the leadership for recognizing a problem and acting on it.  How is this going to affect the FD's budget?  Do they bill for EMS?  Are they on their way to full paid EMS?  (last question, I promise)  Are these EMT's available for mutual aid or are they dedictaed to the community?

←

Unless they separate EMS from the FD, they're not going to be able to bill for service.

Another example of a band-aid on a badly fractured EMS system.

(I'm not bashing Hawthorne - my criticism is that we lack a comprehensive EMS system in the Hudson Valley Region! There is a similar thread about the same kind of problem in Pawling, concerns about the "system" in Putnam County, etc.)

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

I was going to write something bad but the last time I did that I almost got kicked off of here so lets just say that they can't get crews out all the time. Maybe most of the time would also be good to say.

They should go paid EMS or they could just disban the ambulance part. Mt Pleasant should make their own EMS system and be done with everything else. Pay everyone. Maybe I would join back up if I was getting PAID.

I did my time as a VOLLEY not doing it for FREE anymore.

[Guest partyrock]

They should go paid EMS or they could just disban the ambulance part. Mt Pleasant should make their own EMS system and be done with everything else.

←

It would be great to see that. Mt. Pleasant is the right size and has enough work to make a municipal based paid system viable. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, this is how see it working. Right now Mt. Pleasant has two medics who ride in almost every call they respond on, three vacs, and 7 ambulances. Figure one als flycar, three bls buses and they would be more than covered.

[Guest voeltz 234]

A friend recently mentioned that an EMT from Empress had informed him there were going to be paid EMT's arriving in Hawthrone soon.  Is this true?  If so, kudos the the leadership for recognizing a problem and acting on it.  How is this going to affect the FD's budget?  Do they bill for EMS?  Are they on their way to full paid EMS?  (last question, I promise)  Are these EMT's available for mutual aid or are they dedictaed to the community?

←

Hawthorne has paid EMTs now, we went with empess Monday-Friday 6am-6pm. Since we are not a V.A.C we can not bill, and yes the EMTs are available for mutual aid, whatever the call is the ambulance will roll on.

Mark Voeltz

Hawthorne FD

[Oswegowind 17]

I think that is a good step...temporary fix (bandaid) but a good step none the less...at least now they can get a bus on the road during the day time. Empress now has an EMT in Peekskill and Hawthorne, medics in Yorktown...but still a bit slow lately in Yonkers!

[Guest]

Yes, they finally went paid, thank God. as for not being able to bill, they are fully aware of it and seem to have other means of making back the $$$. i just wished they realized the urgency of going paid over 2 years ago, when the problem REALLY started to get bad. so, i don't give kudos to hawthorne for there "leadership", i give kudos to the other ems agencies who did hundreds of mutual aid to hawthorne for the past 2-3 years. lastly...having empress techs @ hawthorne working w/ transcare mt. pleasant medics...i donno, we'll see how it goes.

[GAW6 66]

It would be great to see that.  Mt. Pleasant is the right size and has enough work to make a municipal based paid system viable.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong, this is how see it working.  Right now Mt. Pleasant has two medics who ride in almost every call they respond on, three vacs, and 7 ambulances.  Figure one als flycar, three bls buses and they would be more than covered.

←

I don't know who you are or where you are getting your information from:

1. The Medics don't "ride in almost every call they respond on" - they respond on every call - when an ambulance is dispatched in the Town of Mt. Pleasant (Valhalla, No. White Plains, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow) the Medic is also dispatched - even if it is dislocated finger!!!

2. How could (1) ALS flycar cover all that area?

3. Only (3) BLS buses? How do you figure, when some corps have (2) buses out at the same time.

4. Do your homework better before you start making statements!!!

I commend Hawthorne on what they are doing - they are a fine organization who has taken alot of heat lately. They addressed their problems and came up with a solution - it is not a "band-aid".

[preemo16 1]

To partyrock,

Well thought out, but I see a problem with only 1 ALS flycar. Mt. Pleasant medic #2 (37M2) handles Grasslands Reservation (busy enough), 19 Bradhurst Ave (county bldg?), route 9A and west of that including Sleepy Hollow, certain calls at Blythedale Children's Hosp, and Westhelp on the WCC grounds (did I miss anything Oneeyed?) from 7a-7p. The majority of these calls, with exception to Sleepy Hollow, are done with 87B1 from the reservation.

At 7p 37M2 off duty. 87B1 becomes 87A1.

From 7a-7p, 37M1 covers Mt Pleasant east of 9A, including the village of P'ville, and North White Plains. At 7p, 37M1 takes over for the calls in Sleepy Hollow, and any other calls not covered by 87A1. Still with me? I don't have the square mileage of that area, but I feel a run for a single medic from, for example, Sleepy Hollow to say, Westlake High School in Valhalla/Thornwood at 9p would not be a desired response time.

CONGRATS to HFD for acknowledging the problem and taking steps to rectify it!

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Preemo I think you got that right. Although I didn't read it all it looked good to me. I just found a website that listed the square miles as 28 for the town.

I just want to know why HFD went with Empress when Transcare already has employees in the town. I think it would be easier for the medics to work with people from within their own agency. Now when there is a problem and there will be a problem you have to call both agencies. Figures Hawthorne has to be different.

[ex-commish 490]

A friend recently mentioned that an EMT from Empress had informed him there were going to be paid EMT's arriving in Hawthrone soon.  Is this true?  If so, kudos the the leadership for recognizing a problem and acting on it.  How is this going to affect the FD's budget?  Do they bill for EMS?  Are they on their way to full paid EMS?  (last question, I promise)  Are these EMT's available for mutual aid or are they dedictaed to the community?

←

Your friend is correct in fact the paid emt began yesterday at 06:00 and we will have one on duty from 6a 6p Mon to Fri. I am not sure how it will effect our budget being we can not bill but I imagine future tax increases like anywhere else.

As far as us being on our way to fulltime ems only time will tell. Nothing has changed to my knowledge as we are still in the mutual aid plan we just have our rig staffed now with a paid emt.

Now......and this is my opinion and mine only we have to give this a chance to see if this works. I see some postings about who was chosen to be contracted to....the board chose Empress, it was their decision and we hopefully addressed a problem.

Wether the emt came from Empress or Disneyland we have someone...period. Let us worry about operation issues or who we go to if there is a problem.

[Guest partyrock]

1.  The Medics don't "ride in almost every call they respond on" - they respond on every call - when an ambulance is dispatched in the Town of Mt. Pleasant (Valhalla, No. White Plains, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow) the Medic is also dispatched - even if it is dislocated finger!!!

2.  How could (1) ALS flycar cover all that area?

3.  Only (3) BLS buses?  How do you figure, when some corps have (2) buses out at the same time.

4.  Do your homework better before you start making statements!!!

←

As per a transcare medic they are encouraged to transport as many dispatched calls as possible. I was under the impression they ride in on injuries, sicks, MVA's, on top of cardiac, diff breather, and critical medical calls.

Thanks preemo, I didn't realize how much they were responsible for. I had originally thought they only covered Pleasantville VAC, Hawthorne FD, and Valhalla VAC (Which one medic with EMD can cover). They're withing 10 minutes of two or three hospitals and 20 minutes of 4, including a level 1 trauma center from anywhere in these towns.

I'm guessing PVAC is good for about 700, Hawthorne 300, and 800 from Valhalla. How close am I? Don't forget to eliminate mutual aid when crews couldn't get out.

3 buses doing 2 runs a day gets you over 2000 runs a year. Thats pretty good odds that there will be a bus available for all emergencies. Prioritize your dispatch and while the occasional stomach flu may have to wait your more serious emergenies will all be covered in a timely manner.

My facts are all speculation and hear-say, but I bet they're pretty close. I've got some practice with this stuff.

[gpdexplorer 46]

And dont forget, the medic also runs mutual aid to tarrytown or wherever when Greenburgh ALS is not available.

[GAW6 66]

As per a transcare medic they are encouraged to transport as many dispatched calls as possible.  I was under the impression they ride in on injuries, sicks, MVA's, on top of cardiac, diff breather, and critical medical calls.

Thanks preemo, I didn't realize how much they were responsible for.  I had originally thought they only covered Pleasantville VAC, Hawthorne FD, and Valhalla VAC (Which one medic with EMD can cover).  They're withing 10 minutes of two or three hospitals and 20 minutes of 4, including a level 1 trauma center from anywhere in these towns.

I'm guessing PVAC is good for about 700, Hawthorne 300, and 800 from Valhalla.  How close am I?  Don't forget to eliminate mutual aid when crews couldn't get out.

3 buses doing 2 runs a day gets you over 2000 runs a year.  Thats pretty good odds that there will be a bus available for all emergencies.  Prioritize your dispatch and while the occasional stomach flu may have to wait your more serious emergenies will all be covered in a timely manner.

My facts are all speculation and hear-say, but I bet they're pretty close.  I've got some practice with this stuff.

←

I am only going to speak for PVAC, you're a little off the mark - I know for a fact out of all of them, we are the busiest - between 800 and 900 per year. I don't agree with your "odds". There are no odds in EMS; you can go a couple of days with no calls, and then you get hit with mutliple calls on top of each other. Sounds like you just want to get rid of volunteers!!!

[Guest]

I am only going to speak for PVAC, you're a little off the mark - I know for a fact out of all of them, we are the busiest - between 800 and 900 per year.  I don't agree with your "odds".  There are no odds in EMS; you can go a couple of days with no calls, and then you get hit with mutliple calls on top of each other.  Sounds like you just want to get rid of volunteers!!!

←

This is not about getting rid of volunteers - and that is not what partyrock is saying nor what he is about. The fact is If you cant get a bus on the road, its time to swallow pride and let the paid guys handle it. Its about providing your community with the best possible service. If you have an ambulance, but no one wants to take the call in, what good is it?

I'm really at a loss as to why this is such a big issue for alot of people. Look at Spring Valley EMS in Rockland County. They have 2 full paid crews on during the daytime mon-friday, the volunteers provide 2 crews during the nights and on the weekends and they have like 5 ambulances and do probably 5K + calls a year.

Edited April 3, 2007 by 66Alpha1

[Guest partyrock]

I am only going to speak for PVAC, you're a little off the mark - I know for a fact out of all of them, we are the busiest - between 800 and 900 per year.  I don't agree with your "odds".  There are no odds in EMS; you can go a couple of days with no calls, and then you get hit with mutliple calls on top of each other.  Sounds like you just want to get rid of volunteers!!!

←

Since you have all the numbers, can you break them down? How many were mutual aid to Valhalla or Hawthrone? How many were unfounded or EMS not needed? How many RMAs? Does multiple ambulances on the same call (MVA's, fires) get counted or is that just one run? 800 to 900 is a big gap. In fact 900 would be a 12% jump from your '05 numbers, thats substantial. Fact of the matter there are odds in EMS. Risk vs Reward. Lets say 90% of the time Anytown, usa can cover its calls with one ambulance. 99% of the time the could cover with 2 buses, but one time last year they needed 5 because a tour bus crashed in town. So to cover 100% of their calls they would need 5 ambulances. Is that practical? Until now Pleasantville had 2 ambulances. Ever have both out the door and get a thrid job come in? Why weren't you out shopping for a third the next day? Becasue odds are those days are few and far betweeen and don't justify purchasing a new ambulance. Life and especially emergency services is a gamble. Our job is to take as much chance out of the equation through training, system redundancy, and proper planning.

Lets not get personal here. Look back at my posts I have huge respect for volunteers, I was a volunteer, and I absolutely support them in any capacity where they can do the job effectively. I have also never criticised PVAC or its members. I questioned the size of their new ambulance, but that fits in line with previous posts related to other threads. I do believe that EMS is more taxing on volunteers with fewer rewards or perks than fire supression. This burden is what is driving volunteer EMS away faster than fire. The only reason I chose Mt. Pleasant is that the communities all ready share and work closely with each other. They are fairly well connected and realtively easy to get from one side to another. If I'm not mistaken, I'm not the only person on this board interested in seeing paid EMS come to Mt. Pleasant.

Edited April 3, 2007 by partyrock

[x635 4,066]

I haven't read all the posts.....but the Town Of Mount Pleasant can have a single ALS provider, a single Police Department, and a single DPW.

Why can't Fire and EMS be consolidated, and add paid staff during the daytime?

Eastchester FD and EMS cover three muncipalites, with paid staff.

The problems are quite apparent on 46.26. It's not fair to the public.

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Party your not the only one that wants MT PLEASANT to go to paid EMS. I have been making my case for years about that. I hate our system and I can speak from EVERY ANGLE.

I was a VOLLEY WITH VVAC until I became a MEDIC. Worked in Yonkers?Mt Vernon for a couple of years. ALL EMS of course we had to do transports but mostly EMS. Then when TRANSCARE came to town I was one of the first 10 hired. From there onto NORTHEREN WESTCHESTER when they had that contract. I was the first medic to ride up there. Picture 1 medic for that entire area. IT was insane trying to get around. Then Mt Pleasant Started their program. Home Run for me I have lived in this town my whole life. Did the first EMS CALL with MEDIC 1 in place. Then I got hired as a LEO. SO to say I know the system is an under statement. I know first hand who gets out on calls and who doesn't. The numbers don't really matter what matters is getting the call covered. I Think the SYSTEM SUCKS here. My opinion. There is no reason that Medic 1 should have to go to WMC campus to do bullsh*t maternity runs or TXPS from Taylor Care. They have their own MEDIC/ambulance. If it is too busy put another bus on to cover the calls. During the day we have 2 medics but the system fails when MEDIC 1&2 are both on calls then you have to call in a mutual aid medic prob from GPD. Now they are down a bus and they are pretty busy. I could go on and on but you get my point.

Maybe I just hate waiting for a VAC to show up then forget it. I am going to stop.

"Your friend is correct in fact the paid emt began yesterday at 06:00 and we will have one on duty from 6a 6p Mon to Fri. I am not sure how it will effect our budget being we can not bill but I imagine future tax increases like anywhere else.

As far as us being on our way to fulltime ems only time will tell. Nothing has changed to my knowledge as we are still in the mutual aid plan we just have our rig staffed now with a paid emt.

Now......and this is my opinion and mine only we have to give this a chance to see if this works. I see some postings about who was chosen to be contracted to....the board chose Empress, it was their decision and we hopefully addressed a problem.

Wether the emt came from Empress or Disneyland we have someone...period. Let us worry about operation issues or who we go to if there is a problem."

I am going to worry about the operations also. You know why because I can. Did the BOARD even talk to Transcare? I don't have any Bias towards anyone I just want to know why they went with EMPRESS. I do know that EMPRESS will try and get their paws into the MT PLEASANT FLY CAR. That will suck.

[Remember585 815]

Perhaps Empress came in with the lowest bid? I believe that's how Peekskill went with them after several years with A-1 then Empire State.

EMS is becoming more and more difficult to operate with an all volunteer staff, let's at least accept that. Just because a call is "covered" it doesn't mean a responsible response time - some places call a call "covered" and they don't respond for up to 30 minutes.

I don't get why people are attacking Hawthorne, maybe it did take them a couple years to get it done but at least they DID something. Some places have leadership that continues to hide their heads in the sand and hope that the EMS Staffing Fairy will show up.

I've been part of Westchester's EMS for nearly 14 years. When I first joined people FOUGHT, yes FOUGHT to get to the rig and ride the call. A crew of 5 wasn't uncommon. But we also did a lot less calls, and had a lot more people who cared and wanted to help the community. It's been a steady downward spiral that in the past 4-5 years has really shown itself. My money says that 20 years from now EMS will be done by all paid personnel and half of us firefighters will be going to the scenes of all our calls because paid personnel will be bringing it there. Our couinty is so hell-bent on making money that it is almost impossible for blue-collared people like most of us to survive here. Cost of living keeps going up, our time to volunteer goes down - do the math.

Hat's off to Hawthorne for making a move for the better of all involved.

And Andy - watch those Disney EMTs, they tend to be a little Goofy...

[Guest]

Yes, they finally went paid, thank God. as for not being able to bill, they are fully aware of it and seem to have other means of making back the $$$. i just wished they realized the urgency of going paid over 2 years ago, when the problem REALLY started to get bad. so, i don't give kudos to hawthorne for there "leadership", i give kudos to the other ems agencies who did hundreds of mutual aid to hawthorne for the past 2-3 years. lastly...having empress techs @ hawthorne working w/ transcare mt. pleasant medics...i donno, we'll see how it goes.

[ex-commish 490]

Party your not the only one that wants MT PLEASANT to go to paid EMS. I have been making my case for years about that. I hate our system and I can speak from EVERY ANGLE.

I was a VOLLEY WITH VVAC until I became a MEDIC. Worked in Yonkers?Mt Vernon for a couple of years. ALL EMS of course we had to do transports but mostly EMS. Then when TRANSCARE came to town I was one of the first 10 hired. From there onto NORTHEREN WESTCHESTER when they had that contract. I was the first medic to ride up there. Picture 1 medic for that entire area. IT was insane trying to get around. Then Mt Pleasant Started their program. Home Run for me I have lived in this town my whole life. Did the first EMS CALL with MEDIC 1 in place. Then I got hired as a LEO. SO to say I know the system is an under statement. I know first hand who gets out on calls and who doesn't. The numbers don't really matter what matters is getting the call covered. I Think the SYSTEM SUCKS here. My opinion. There is no reason that Medic 1 should have to go to WMC campus to do bullsh*t maternity runs or TXPS from Taylor Care. They have their own MEDIC/ambulance. If it is too busy put another bus on to cover the calls. During the day we have 2 medics but the system fails when MEDIC 1&2 are both on calls then you have to call in a mutual aid medic prob from GPD. Now they are down a bus and they are pretty busy.  I could go on and on but you get my point.

Maybe I just hate waiting for a VAC to show up then forget it. I am going to stop.

"Your friend is correct in fact the paid emt began yesterday at 06:00 and we will have one on duty from 6a 6p Mon to Fri. I am not sure how it will effect our budget being we can not bill but I imagine future tax increases like anywhere else.

As far as us being on our way to fulltime ems only time will tell. Nothing has changed to my knowledge as we are still in the mutual aid plan we just have our rig staffed now with a paid emt.

Now......and this is my opinion and mine only we have to give this a chance to see if this works. I see some postings about who was chosen to be contracted to....the board chose Empress, it was their decision and we hopefully addressed a problem.

Wether the emt came from Empress or Disneyland we have someone...period. Let us worry about operation issues or who we go to if there is a problem."

I am going to worry about the operations also. You know why because I can. Did the BOARD even talk to Transcare? I don't have any Bias towards anyone I just want to know why they went with EMPRESS. I do know that EMPRESS will try and get their paws into the MT PLEASANT FLY CAR. That will suck.

←

Oneeye, I can not nor will I speak for my board. If you want answers than I suggest you contact the fire district board and ask them directly. We all can go back and forth in this forum but I believe in taking questions to those who are responsible for making the decisions.

[ex-commish 490]

I haven't read all the posts.....but the Town Of Mount Pleasant can have a single ALS provider, a single Police Department, and a single DPW.

Why can't Fire and EMS be consolidated, and add paid staff during the daytime?

Eastchester FD and EMS cover three muncipalites, with paid staff.

The problems are quite apparent on 46.26. It's not fair to the public.

←

The very same reason I believe it didn't happen anywhere else..including Greenburgh....no one wants to give up thier house. Larchmont and the Town of Mamaroneck is now seeking to merge and add a paid chief.

[KelliPVAC 32]

As a volunteer EMT in the Mt Pleasant area I would be very upset if we went paid. And YES I do care about pt care. I have done this for many years now, as many people have done. I LOVE volunteeering and would be upset if a paid EMT took that away. This post was about Hawthorne going paid during the day, which I give them a lot of credit for doing. They had a problem and found a result. It should not matter which paid agency it is with. Its about pt care, and getting the ambulance out. Yes, all departments have had "bad days" and had to mutal aid call. That does not mean they don't care about the patients!

As far as PVAC and our trucks, YES we do have 3 now and I hope to have all 3 out at 1 time.

The goal in VACs and in MT Pleasant should be to help the surrounding agencies. Not be putting them down. As I said before everyone has their own opinons and ways they run their departments. Isn't everyones goal pt care? I know mine is.

To all the VACs , GOOD LUCK!

To Hawthorne again, GOOD LUCK with your paid EMT, I hope it helps!

[Guest partyrock]

And Andy - watch those Disney EMTs, they tend to be a little Goofy...

←

ouch...you didn't just do that...did you?

One more thing I wanted to make clear, contracting out for EMT's now is a good start, but if agencies are going to start switching over to full paid staffing, I am almost unilatterally for municipal based systems. EMS needs to be dedicated to the community. White Plains learned that and made it clear in their last contract with Transcare. Communities that all ready have volunteer EMS should have little trouble transfering to a locally controlled paid EMS. In these more affluent areas where the vast majority of your patients are ensured EMS can be run with little additional cost to the community.

[Guest]

As a volunteer EMT in the Mt Pleasant area I would be very upset if we went paid.  And YES I do care about pt care.  I have done this for many years now, as many people have done. I LOVE volunteeering and would be upset if a paid EMT took that away. This post was about Hawthorne going paid during the day, which I give them a lot of credit for doing.  They had a problem and found a result.  It should not matter which paid agency it is with.  Its about pt care, and getting the ambulance out.  Yes, all departments have had "bad days" and had to mutal aid call.  That does not mean they don't care about the patients!

As far as PVAC and our trucks, YES we do have 3 now and I hope to have all 3 out at 1 time. 

The goal in VACs and in MT Pleasant should be to help the surrounding agencies.  Not be putting them down.  As I said before everyone has their own opinons and ways they run their departments.  Isn't everyones goal pt care?  I know mine is.

To all the VACs , GOOD LUCK!

To Hawthorne again, GOOD LUCK with your paid EMT, I hope it helps!

←

Consolidation is an important part of streamlining the EMS system when you have duplication of services. You'll not only save money but you'll improve the quality of service - the latter being the most poignant issue.

Looking at this as paid EMTs taking away your ability to volunteer is simply not fair. All your doing by providing paid service, at this point, is reassuring your population that an ambulance from XXXVAC will respond, no question about it, to your emergency. No one is saying cant volunteer. Fact is, no volunteer can make 100% of the call volume, and given today's world many agencies have suffered - it was inevitable. Think of it as being a proactive and "living" agency. Your simply growing and evolving with the time as well as reaffirming your agencies dedication to providing service.

I've been on both sides of the fence, and i can tell you that it works - job #1 i work in a combined agency and it works great. The volunteers have the ability to server their community as they wish, but are augmented by my presence if manpower is an issue. I train with them, i spend time with new volunteers going over ambulance operations and the like, and i learn from them as well. Don't knock it until you've been there.

Edited April 3, 2007 by 66Alpha1

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

HFD I just wanted to know if they considered any other agency. Don't commend HFD for what they are doing. They should have done this years ago. At least it is a start but what is going to happen when they can't get a crew out after 6p?

It has been far too long and I do wish that there was a PAID EMS SERVICE in MT PLEASANT. I think that they should have paid FIRE as well. That is my opinion. The vollies do a great job, I just think paid is better.

This isn't about PVAC OR VVAC either. They get their buses out in reasonable amount of time most of the time.

[Guest voeltz 234]

yes it took us a long time to fix out EMS problem, but does it really matter if we went with EMPRESS or TRANSCARE, we have a paid EMT in the house now, the only thing that matters is the bus is getting out the door now. Since yesterday Hawthorne EMS had 5 calls, all 5 we were out the door in under 2 min. AND YES HAWTHORNE DID TALK TO TRANSCARE, THEY HAD 3 MEETINGS WITH THEM AT THE FIRE HOUSE.

[Guest partyrock]

As far as PVAC and our trucks, YES we do have 3 now and I hope to have all 3 out at 1 time. 

←

You really don't get what I was saying. You talk about your "bad days" those are unacceptable. If vacs want to stay around and stay effective they need to guarentee service. Have crews sign up for tours in advance, and when you can't get a bus out put yourselves out of service until there are people around to respond. Need a second bus, instead of hoping a crew can assemble why not start out mutual aid and put the third crew on stand-by? There is no reason to clear out volleys who are getting the job done. I'd rather have volleys if they can do it because it gives people a sense of investment in their community and its cheaper for me the taxpayer. Every time I read on this board about someone having to tone out multiple times for a crew or wait 30 minutes it drives this point home. Emergency medicine has advanced leaps and bounds in the last decade. Our most critical patients now have an outstandingly better chance than ever of surviving and even walking out of the hospital these days. The catch is fast and effective pre-hospital care is proven to be just as important. We have come a long way since the old days of load and go in the back of a caddy. I could go on and on with stories but the point is wether we are vollunteer or paid we have a job to do and a service to provide to our community.

To those from PVAC who are so quick to jump down my throat a few of your fellow emergency responders have been more than happy to share a few examples of everythign thats been adressed in this thread. Every agency has problems, we need to be mature enough to recognize this and correct them.

[Guest]

i agree w/ partyrock, having a "bad day" in ems or fire is unacceptable, yes it happens, but as officers its our job to make sure it happens as little as possible. As for oneeyedmic, I also understand where you are coming from, but becoming a municipal agency tough, trust me I tried to get the details. When I first heard of mt pleasant ems, I thought it was going to be municipal; needless to say…I was wrong. To make it municipal takes a lot of work on the legal end. But you know what the biggest problem is? vac/fire members are VERY TERRITORIAL! In my opinion, that’s why its not municipal. Too many members only prefer THERE vac or fd; well guess what?? Fire and ems isn’t about YOU, it’s about THEM!! If that’s not your reason for doing this…especially ems…please tell me why you do it? …and I really hope no one says to drive lights and sirens.

In my last post I was not criticizing hfd, im very happy they did what was necessary to get there bus out the door and I leave that kudos to the new officers- GREAT JOB! I just don’t understand how the past régime could just sweep this under the carpet for almost 3 YEARS!!! That’s the only upsetting thing