The Falcon Fire Protection District Board of Directors has approved a November ballot question seeking to increase the districtís mill levy for the purposes of implementing its own ambulance transport service and fulfilling staffing needs.This decision followed the recommendation of a Public Safety Task Force created to study the districtís budgetary and operational needs. District residents representing different geographical areas and local organizations comprised the task force, which met multiple times over a four-month period. Feedback from a mail survey and town-hall-style meetings contributed to the recommendation.The issue of ambulance services in El Paso County has been a concern for FFPD for some time. Much attention has been focused on how quickly Falcon-area residents can expect an ambulance with Advanced Life Support capabilities, since most of the Falcon fire district lies within ambulance response zones established by the countyís Emergency Services Authority that allow 20-to 25-minute response times. However, the other concern is simply the uncertainty of future county ambulance services.Ambulance service for the county is contracted to a private provider through ESA. The current provider, American Medical Response, holds contracts for both the city of Colorado Springs and El Paso County. The city contract was originally set to end on Dec. 31, 2018, while the county contract expires Dec. 31, 2019. According to press releases and local media sources, the city entered negotiations with Priority Ambulance in March but terminated those efforts in July. The city announced it would revise its Request for Proposal and solicit new bids within 18 months. In the meantime, AMRís contract with the city will be extended.Since the status of future city and county contracts is unknown, Falconís fire board wants to ensure that its residents will have ambulance transport options available when they are needed.ALS ambulance service: more than just a ride to the hospitalWhen someone calls 911 to request an ambulance, the fire department also responds to provide patient care until the ambulance arrives. Every Falcon firefighter is cross-trained as an Emergency Medical Technician capable of providing basic life support for a variety of injuries and illnesses. EMTs can give oxygen, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use Automated External Defibrillators, stabilize traumatic injuries and start IVs for intravenous therapy, among many other skills. The FFPD currently has only two firefighters certified for ALS (advanced life support), which is a higher level of pre-hospital care than what EMTs are able to provide.Each ambulance, whether from AMR or another provider, is staffed with at least one paramedic certified in ALS procedures that include intubation, interpreting cardiac rhythms, administering certain medications and more. Whether fire crews or ambulance personnel arrive first at a medical emergency, patient care and treatment begins at the scene and continues through transport until the patient reaches the hospital.FFPD statistics consistently demonstrate the response time advantages of having an ALS ambulance in its jurisdiction. AMR currently provides a staffed ambulance that is housed at Falcon Fire Station 1, located at the corner of Meridian Ranch Boulevard and Stapleton Drive. When this ambulance is in Falconís fire district, it generally has a significantly faster response time than ambulances responding from outside the district. However, since it is not dedicated solely to Falcon, this ambulance could be dispatched to other calls outside of FFPDís jurisdiction. In those instances, another ambulance must respond in its place to any calls in the Falcon area, which typically results in a longer response time.Curtis Kauffman, Falcon firefighter/paramedic, said the ability to quickly have ALS on the scene is important for serious medical emergencies such as difficulty breathing, cardiac problems and severe trauma injuries. While EMTs can perform many life-saving procedures, Kauffman said, ìThere are limits to what they can do in terms of their training and EMS protocols.î Having an ALS provider with higher levels of EMS skills and training ìcan make a difference,î he said. Some types of emergencies, such as strokes, require rapid interventions that can only be performed by doctors. Kauffman said in those cases, the time it takes for an ambulance to quickly arrive at the scene and then transport the patient to a hospital can potentially affect the patientís long-term outcome.If the voters approve the mill levy increase in November, FFPD will join four other El Paso County fire departments that operate their own ambulance services independent of the ESA contract: Fountain, Security, Black Forest and Tri-Lakes Monument.
