Chief Urges Use of Firefighters as Paramedics : Medical care: ‘We’re talking about trying to improve the survival rate,’ G. John Parker says. But a budget crunch could force the city to continue relying solely on a private firm.

If you were to call the Pomona Fire Department with a medical emergency today, the department would send a rescue truck and firefighters, but the sort of help that is often needed--paramedics--might not be along for a while.

Any delay, Fire Chief G. John Parker said, can be the difference between life and death. And the absence of paramedics in the department is a major deficiency, he said, because more than 60% of calls--more than 6,000 a year--involve medical emergencies.

Pomona, with a population of more than 131,000, is one of the few cities in the San Gabriel Valley that does not provide paramedic service through its own department or the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Cole-Schaefer Ambulance Service, a private company, operates two paramedic units in Pomona. But Parker said his firefighters, based at nine stations, almost always arrive on the scene of an emergency before the private paramedics. Firefighters respond in an average of less than four minutes, he said, while it takes about six minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

The department is training firefighters as emergency medical technicians so they can provide first aid and gather information that will help paramedics assess the problem. But, Parker said, patients may need injections, defibrillation or other lifesaving measures that require paramedics, and the faster the treatment, the better a victim’s chances.

“We’re talking about trying to improve the survival rate in Pomona,” the chief said. “If we had a Fire Department paramedic program, I guarantee you that the survival rate would improve. We don’t have any hard data, but just common sense tells you.”

Mayor Donna Smith said the city considered--and rejected--a Fire Department proposal several years ago that would have trained and equipped firefighters as paramedics and given them the responsibility for ambulance service.

Parker, who came to Pomona last year after 25 years with the Peoria, Ill., Fire Department, said he envisions a different system in which firefighters trained as paramedics would respond in firetrucks as firefighters do now, with a private firm continuing to provide ambulance service. This plan would save the city the cost of buying ambulances, he said.

Parker said he has not submitted a formal proposal but plans to discuss the idea with the mayor.

Smith called the chief’s idea “an interesting concept” but said “this type of program would carry a price tag.” The city is operating on a tight budget, the mayor said, and is threatened with a loss of revenue because of the state budget crisis.

Police Chief Lloyd Wood, who is serving as interim city administrator, said the City Council “has taken a stand on a no-growth budget. Nobody is expanding their departments. Any increase in services is going to have to be offset by increased revenue.”

A private consulting firm commissioned by the city recommended last month a host of fees the city could impose to raise revenue and to shift the tax burden so that people who use services pay for them directly. The study report by Management Services Institute Inc. proposed a voluntary subscription fee of $12.50 a year per household to pay for emergency medical service. Those who did not subscribe would be billed for service.

The institute proposal is based on the department’s current costs of responding to medical calls with firefighters trained as emergency medical technicians, not paramedics. But Parker said the proposal could finance a paramedic program.

The fire chief said he has not calculated the cost of paramedic service. Ideally, he said, the city would base paramedics at every fire station, but it could begin on a much smaller scale.

“This is nothing against Cole-Schaefer,” Parker said. “I’m talking about proper field management and adequate resources to provide a quality level of service.”

Brian Scott, regional manager of Cole-Schaefer, said his company handles 15 to 20 paramedic calls a day in Pomona. The company bills patients for the service. The average charge is $300.

Paramedics require six months of full-time education, Scott said. But his company is able to hire people who are already trained.