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Emergency services to provide EMT standby at county fire‑training events to cover shrinking volunteer ambulance availability
Summary
With volunteer and paid ambulance availability declining, Bureau of Emergency Services staff plan to provide on‑site EMT coverage for county fire‑training sessions; the proposal is administrative and requires no new legislative authorization, officials said Sept. 18.
County emergency‑services staff told the Protective Services Committee they plan to use trained county EMS/Fire‑Training staff to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) standby at fire‑training evolutions where volunteer or paid ambulance providers decline a stand‑by because ambulances must remain available for commercial calls.
Committee members were told the service would be offered on a course‑by‑course basis; staff would be paid for the specific training session hours and no ongoing staffing change is proposed. Director Cuomo (not present at the meeting) had briefed staff and the commissioner in advance, and Bureau staff said the arrangement is largely an administrative assignment of existing training personnel rather than a request for new county appropriations.
Officials said the approach aims to avoid gaps in on‑site medical coverage during training and to reduce barriers for departments seeking multi‑unit live‑fire or rescue training. The committee accepted the update as informational and asked staff to return with any required administrative procedures.
