OFD adapts to rising demand for ambulances

Since the Orlando Fire Department took over ambulance responsibilities for the city six years ago, Orlando’s population has grown by about 15 percent. And OFD Chief Roderick Williams says the department’s demand for ambulances has grown with it.

“Since we’ve been transporting, our call load is up 12 percent,” he said. “We’re growing with the city and trying to do it in the most economic way.”

But the Orlando Fire Fighters union is calling for more to be done, claiming the department “has failed to expand equipment and personnel to meet the needs of these critical services.”

“Our units are stretched pretty thin right now,” union president Ronald Glass said. “We need to provide a higher level of service.”

Williams said the department has kept up, pointing to the addition of a peak-hours unit and “business strategies” he said helps the department be successful while saving taxpayer dollars. The agency also was allowed to add 12 new firefighter positions this fiscal year — the first increase since 2012 when the city’s population was about 245,250, according to the 2018 city budget.

The Fire Department keeps 11 ambulances of its own staffed full

time, but still has a contract with a private transport company, OFD Deputy Chief Rich Wales said. American Medical Response responds to about 30 percent of Orlando’s calls for ambulances — at no cost to the city because it bills insurance companies for its services.

OFD also has “mutual aid” agreements with Orange County Fire Rescue and the Winter Park Fire Department — meaning the agencies can call one another when they need extra help responding to calls.

Mutual aid is common practice. OCFR spokeswoman Ngoc Huynh said Orange County, which serves nearly 820,000 residents of unincorporated Orange County and does not enlist the help of private ambulance companies, partners with 12 fire departments from Brevard to Polk counties.

Wales said the system of back-ups ensures everyone who calls 911 gets the help they need.

“You don’t call 911 and we say, ‘Sorry, we’re busy today,’” he said. “That doesn’t happen.”

For two days in a row this month, Orlando had to ask Orange County ambulances to help on two 911 calls because OFD and AMR ambulances were tied up with other emergencies. Wales said needing mutual aid for two consecutive days is unusual — he estimated it only happens about once a month.

Glass said it demonstrated that OFD’s response model needs change. He said care is compromised when the department has to take the time to call in back-up agencies.

“The quicker the response, the quicker the care,” he said. “It’s no secret there’s been an issue with transport.”

OFD also has four “jumpover units” that firefighters assigned to fire trucks can move to when extra ambulances are needed, Wales said.

“We can go from a very moderate day to a ridiculously busy day in a moment’s notice,” he said. “It’s up to our folks in the field to find those areas and fill the gaps.”

Huynh said the county fire department has a similar system with an extra four stocked ambulances that can be staffed in a pinch.

The Orlando firefighter union — which was denied some of the benefits they requested in contract negotiations in September — criticized this system, claiming it is “placing citizens, visitors, and firefighters at substantial risk.”

“Firefighters are removed from frontline apparatus and placed on reserve units to make up for service gaps,” the union said in a press release. “This leaves other large areas of the city with a reduction in manpower and unprotected for extended periods of time.”

Glass said union members pushing for changes in the response formula want to know what the future holds.

“We’ve asked the chief what is the long-range plan is for these,” he said. “He’s not allowing anyone else to see the plans.”

Williams said the OFD is “always looking at how do we make the system better.”

The contract with AMR is up for review in January, and Wales said administrators regularly review response plans of its own and other agencies to ensure they have the best formula.

Despite union criticism, he said residents should feel safe, citing the city’s No. 1 Insurance Services Office rating. The department also is pursuing special accreditation in ambulance transport.

“We’ve only been doing this six years,” Wales said. “We are always looking at different ways for this model to be successful. What’s most important is we want [residents] to feel like a patient, not just another transport.”