AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — The Amsterdam Fire Department, which has used firefighters to staff ambulance calls since taking over the city’s EMS service in 2017, is temporarily using non-firefighter EMTs and paramedics to help cover those calls while newly hired firefighters complete their training.
“It takes approximately 18 months to train a firefighter all the way up to the paramedic level,” Chief Anthony Agresta told News10. “Firefighters go away for 16 weeks to the fire academy and then after that, they have a year of schooling to get to the paramedic level.”
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Agresta said the temporary staffing arrangement has already allowed the department to maintain fire coverage while handling multiple EMS calls. During one weekend structure fire, non-firefighter EMS personnel handled two medical calls, allowing the department to send two fire trucks with four firefighters instead of one truck with two.
The department responds to more than 400 fire and EMS calls each month.
“It benefits, really, both of us,” EMT Aiden Bowerman told News10. “It’s more patient contact for us to improve in the field that we work in and it’s better for the firemen as well. They get to focus more on the fire side and do more training, and it just relieves them from having to be on the rescue all day long.”
Agresta said the EMS positions could also serve as a pathway for EMTs and paramedics considering fire service careers, giving them experience providing EMS in a fire department setting.
The department currently has 32 firefighters, with four recruits in training that will bring staffing to 36. Its EMS division includes six EMTs and six paramedics, with additional hiring underway.
Is cross-training firefighters for EMS still the right approach, or does bringing in non-firefighter EMTs and paramedics make more sense for staffing? Share with us below.
EMS1 readers respond
“I can see both sides of the coin but I tend to lean towards cross-training firefighters. You never know what you’re going to be presented with once on scene and a paramedic/firefighter can handle a lot of things on both sides. But I also understand the need for EMS-only trained personnel to free up firefighters so you can max out your fire response and being able to still respond to medicals.”
“EMS and firefighting are separate tasks. Short staffing fire apparatus because you think getting 2 calls at the same time is a rare occurrence puts everyone at risk. Your core EMS providers should be be full time dedicated to EMS work.”
“Bring in EMS. We started integrating in the 1980s when it was obvious that fire calls were dropping due to better building codes, enforcement, and public education. It maintained staffing levels for the fire service. Times have changed. It’s time for us to change once more, plus pay medics comparable to fire personnel.”
“This is absolutely a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Yes, it will work to fill immediate needs for EMS staffing. Your FFs will love you for getting them off the ‘box.’ However, any fire chief who doesn’t realize the need for fire-based EMS is not facing reality. EMS responses are typically >70 % of what FDs do so you really can’t separate EMS from fire. I currently hire ‘paramedic only’ positions but in the long term what happens? I was hired by a major metro FD as a PM only and spent a 33-year progressive career in that agency only after I challenged the ‘EMS barrier’ created by hiring single-role positions. I ascended to the rank of Deputy Fire Chief but as an EMS-only hire, I was told that I was ‘confined’ and fought through the segregated/discriminatory practices for many years that were associated with this until I worked to change the rules. Again, it doesn’t work for career development and in fact it makes an FD/EMS system ripe for privatization with only single-role personnel. Not to slight those EMS-only people who have an affinity to remain in EMS, but what are their career options when FD pensions are typically based on a 20-30-year career. Not to mention the many vulnerabilities that EMS-only personnel face including FLSA restrictions. The social dynamics and the FD culture also do not sit well with this configuration. The best option in my experience/assessment is to hire EMS-only as a stop gap but commit to their cross training and professional development for future assimilation into the mainstream organization. Go no further than the largest FD in the country that maintains a separate and unequal EMS system under the FD. Ask those employees and see the many inequities between the two and there is your answer!”
“It totally makes more sense to bring on single-role personnel. There are many providers who don’t want to be FF, but can be a great asset as an EMT or paramedic. Many departments just can’t figure out the FLSA for pay.”
