By Ann Kelley
The Oklahoman
SEMINOLE, Okla. — Heart attack survivor Ray North thinks Seminole is going to see a spike in obituaries when the city-owned ambulance service merges with the fire department.
North, 53, said he would have died in July 2008 were it not for the expertise of paramedics. The decision Tuesday by city council members to combine the two services is putting his and other lives in danger, he said.
“If I have a fire I want a fireman. If my house is burglarized, then I’ll call the police,” North said. “If it’s life or death for me it’s a paramedic I want, and no one else.”
Council members unanimously decided to combine the city-owned ambulance service, Medicus, with its fire department as a measure to shave about $250,000 off the city’s budget.
City Manager Steve Saxon said the rural ambulance service has become an increasingly bigger drain on the city. The service’s annual budget is about $900,000, with about $600,000 of that subsidized by the city.
“Unfortunately, it’s a very personal business, but it is still a business and it loses more and more money each year,” Saxon said. “I don’t think we have much of choice.”
Medicus runs two ambulances with a third for a backup, covering Seminole and the surrounding rural area. It answers about 1,400 calls annually where patients are transported, Saxon said.
The ambulance service employees 10 people full time, but relies heavily on part-time staff, he said.
Sarah Brewer, an emergency medical technician, said she and several co-workers could be out of a job if they can’t pass the fire department’s fitness test or move within 15 minutes of the city.
She said paramedics who stay will take a $3,000 annual pay cut and intermediate technicians could lose up to $4,000. Many are concerned their duties as lifesavers will take a back seat to fighting fires.
“If we wanted to be firefighters, we would have gone to school for it,” Brewer said. “This isn’t a merger. It’s a takeover.”
Assistant Fire Chief Bryant Baker said all in the department will be cross-trained to work on ambulances and fire trucks.
Baker said Medicus employees may be taking a pay cut but will have a larger part of their health insurance paid and be eligible for the firefighters’ pension.
He said firefighters are taking classes to become intermediate EMTs and will likely be driving ambulances, not working on patients.
Baker said fires will not take precedence over people’s lives. When there is a fire, an ambulance is always on the scene should someone get injured. If there is a medical call, the ambulance is immediately dispatched to it.
That practice will continue, he said.
“We know there are a lot of hurt feelings over this, but we have to make the best of it,” Baker said. “We need ambulance service here, and this might be what it takes to save it.”
Copyright 2010 The Oklahoman