The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia Fire and EMS department is bolstering its depleted ranks with new ambulances and several new paramedics.
City leaders will announce the new hires and purchases on Tuesday.
The department has struggled to provide timely emergency care. Dozens of paramedics have resigned in the past two years, and some ambulances have fallen into disrepair. The Associated Press reported that the department is trying to make do with less than half the paramedics employed by departments that respond to similar numbers of medical calls.
A department spokesman says the new hires will be “single-role” paramedics, meaning they will ride on ambulances but not on fire engines, which are usually the first vehicles to respond to emergencies. Department officials have said many trained paramedics don’t want to fight fires.