On March 17th, 2008, the Amherst Firefighters addressed the Amherst Select Board in regards to the Board's recent conversations about eliminating the ambulance service provided by the Fire Department. The presentation came immediately after the Board was addressed by the Fire Chief. The Amherst Firefighters believe that abolishing this ambulance service would be a serious mistake. In fact, any cuts to the Fire Department's budget or service would pose a significant threat to public safety.

The following is a summary of the presentation given by the Amherst Firefighters and an explanation of our position.

Public safety in Amherst is made up of three branches: Police, Fire/EMS, and Dispatch. These services are an important part of any community. Without them, a community is not prepared to deal with even the routine emergencies that it will face from day to day. Whether they generate revenue or not, these services will always be required.

The Amherst Fire Department has been providing emergency ambulance service to the community since 1947. Amherst Firefighters are trained in both firefighting and emergency medical services, meaning that any one of us is capable of doing either job at any given time. Often, we will switch roles from call to call or even perform the duties of both roles at the same time when needed.

Over recent years, the responsibilities and education of a firefighter have expanded drastically. The professional firefighters who protect Amherst have made a career of learning and perfecting these services. In addition to putting out fires, we also provide a number of other specialized services outlined to the right. A member who is both a Firefighter and a Paramedic will spend three months at the fire academy, eighteen months in paramedic school, and countless hours each year maintaining his or her certifications. Those interested in technical rescue or other aspects of the job will also participate in ongoing training for that field as well.

It is our opinion that having this dual-role system is the most efficient possible option for any community the size of Amherst. Having members that can act in both capacities maximizes productivity. Dividing the Fire Department and Ambulance Service would mean hiring many more employees, thereby creating expensive redundancies.

Another important point is that the duties of Fire and EMS are also closely related. The example provided to the Select Board involved a fairly routine car accident. If a victim is trapped inside of a car, our firefighters are able to provide life-saving medical treatment during extrication. In a divided system, emergency medical personnel would not be able to provide the same care. Because of the confined area and dangers posed by the accident scene, there would not be room for both extrication and medical personnel to attend to the patient at the same time. As a result, a choice would have to be made between the two.

In the year 2007, the Amherst Firefighters responded to 5,166 emergency calls. 3,856 of those calls were for the ambulance. Generally, about 9% of ambulance calls involve more than one patient.

In the year 1997, the Amherst Firefighters responded to 3,499 emergency calls (2,436 ambulance). In 1987, there were 2,749 emergency calls (1,605 ambulance). Yet, the minimum staffing levels for the Amherst Firefighters have not changed.

However, the increase in numbers of calls is not the only rise in activity. Numbers of home inspections, university and college campus activities, and commercial inspections are also increasing each year.

Several studies have been conducted on the situation in Amherst. Most recently, a reorganization report released in 2003 reported:

"Interestingly, the New England Insurance Rating Association back in 1965 stated that Amherst should have 15 personnel on duty based upon the hazard index, population and activity levels observed. A Town committee established in 1964 (Fire Protection Needs Committee) agreed with many of the conclusions of the Fire Grading Report in their final report in December, 1966. Yet, in 2003, we have less than half that staffing on duty, are 5 times as busy in terms of emergency responses alone, and note that most of the communities in our population range indeed have the 15 personnel on-duty now as recommended for us in 1965!"

Revenue

The Amherst Fire Department had an operating budget of roughly $4.8 million in fiscal year '07. It returned $1.9 million (45%) in revenues collected from ambulance receipts, inspections, college/university subsidies, and money collected from the towns we provide ambulance service to.

According to Chief Hoyle during the meeting with the Select Board, it is highly unusual for a Fire Department to return more than 30% of its operating budget. He indicated that this was further evidence of how well our system is functioning.

Alternatives

Both of the alternatives that have been suggested to the Select Board are unacceptable, in the opinion of the Amherst Firefighters.

The first alternative would be to separate the ambulance function out of the Fire Department and into its own EMS Department. In addition to the disadvantages described above, doing this would create expensive redundancies. Having any fewer firefighters would put the safety of this town in serious jeopardy. The town would need to hire at least another 24 Paramedics to run a separate EMS Department, meaning an overall increase in salaries and benefits as well as the administration to run it.

Alternative number two would involve outsourcing the job of EMS to a private service. Doing so would mean the immediate loss of the $1.5 million collected by ambulance receipts (FY '07 numbers). The department budget would remain close to $4.8 million, translating to a significant loss to the Town.

Private ambulance services do not have the same motives or values as a town run ambulance. They are generally driven by profit rather than exceptional patient care, and they do not have the ties to the community that you will find within a Fire Department.

Billing Rates and Potential Gains

Finally, the Amherst Firefighters addressed the way ambulance services are billed by the Town. Currently, the Town of Amherst bills insurance companies $445 for the most basic of ambulance services despite the fact they are allowed to bill up to $544. Again, this is for the most basic of ambulance transports. Any call where advanced care is rendered (IV therapy, drug therapy, airway management, etc.) could be billed at higher rates.

This represents a difference of $99 per call at a minimum. Multiply this $99 by the 3,856 ambulance calls responded to in 2007 and there is an additional $381,744 in revenue instantly.

In addition to increasing the billing rate to a more appropriate level, collections must also be re-evaluated. In FY '06, Amherst collected on only 68% of its ambulance bills. The number was 73.7% in FY '07. These numbers are too low.

A collection increase of even 1% would represent just under $16,000. Increasing collection rates to 80% (a very realistic rate in our view) would translate to another $100,000+ in revenue.

Conclusion

The Amherst Firefighters recognize the financial difficulties that are facing our community in this time. However, any cuts to the department or its operations would affect our ability to generate the revenue that we produce and result in an overall increase in expenses.

More importantly, cuts to the Fire Department's budget would make an already critically understaffed department even more so. The safety of our community is our priority.

 
Amherst Firefighters
Local 1764