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Carmel’s new fire chief highlights EMS performance, staffing and Medic 2 deployment
Summary
Fire Chief Joel Thacker introduced himself at a town hall and described the Carmel Fire Department’s staffing, cardiac-arrest survival rates and the March 1 launch of a Medic 2 transport unit on the city’s west side.
Joel Thacker, introduced at a Carmel town hall as the new fire chief, told residents he has been on the job nearly seven months and described the department’s emergency medical work and staffing.
Thacker said the Carmel Fire Department has 76 sworn positions spread across six fire stations and pointed to the department’s high cardiac-arrest survival rate as evidence of training, equipment and close hospital access. He said Carmel’s survival rate is currently about 59 percent, compared with typical national survival rates of 25 to 30 percent.
The chief described the March 1 placement of Medic 2, a transport unit based on the west side at Station 342. Thacker said Medic 2 is cross‑trained for firefighting and emergency medical transport so it can respond to both medical and fire incidents and shorten patient transport times to nearby specialty hospitals. He noted the close operational coordination with the Carmel Police Department and the area’s hospitals as factors in fast care and improved outcomes.
Thacker told the audience the department tracks return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and cardiac-arrest saves and credited training, equipment and local medical facilities for the city’s higher-than-average results. He also said the department and city leadership are reviewing response-time data and looking at potential locations for additional fire stations in coming years.
The chief closed by inviting questions and said he was honored to serve the community.
Why it matters: EMS performance affects survival and long‑term outcomes for cardiac arrests and other emergencies; staffing and station locations influence response times across neighborhoods.
