By EMS1 Staff
LOMBARD, Ill. — A fire department has placed a third ambulance into service after facing a recent spike in calls.
The Lombard Fire Department responded to 6,699 medical calls last year — a number Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Howell expects to increase. The department has had to rely on mutual aid from neighboring communities to cover several hundred calls, reported the Daily Herald.
“We’ve experienced a lot of development in the area,” Chief Howell said. “We also cover a good section of [the highway], so we’ve seen increased calls for service on the highway.”
To offset the high call volume, the department will add a third ambulance into rotation. Although the ambulance was acquired in September 2016, the department only recently received funding to staff it full-time.
Chief Howell said fire engines can be used to respond to medical calls, since they carry the same life support equipment and medications as ambulances. However, Chief Howell noted ambulances, not fire trucks, are only able to transport patients to hospitals.