Fire Chief Perko told the University Heights City Council on June 16 that a volunteer emergency medical service operating in the city, identified in his remarks as Hatzalah Cleveland, is responding outside the 911 system in ways that have produced delays and operational risks. Chief Perko said those problems include a near two‑hour delay in activating advanced life‑support for an April incident because 911 was not called first, repeated handoff and communications gaps between volunteers and professional crews, and unclear medical oversight after Hatzalah’s medical director resigned.
The chief said the city’s full‑time firefighter‑paramedics provide “hospital‑level care” and urged the public to call 911 first for emergencies; he said volunteer responders can be a supplement only if integrated into the unified dispatch and medical‑oversight system. “Public safety must remain above politics,” he told council members; “any volunteer efforts must be appropriately integrated into our emergency response system for the benefit of everyone.”
Chief Perko listed specific operational concerns: delays in advanced care when 911 is not activated, multilayered call transfers that can lose critical details, lack of formal on‑scene patient handoffs, and uncertainty about supervision and treatment protocols when volunteers arrive before paramedics. He said the department averages about a four‑minute response time and that perceived long responses (10–20 minutes) result when volunteers are on scene and 911 is notified later.
Council members asked about prior committee scheduling and community outreach. Councilwoman Weiser and others criticized the timing of the chief’s request for a committee meeting and pressed whether the chief had attempted internal or committee routes before a public report; the chief said he had and offered a full written report to follow the executive summary he read aloud. Councilmember Cooney asked that the safety committee schedule a follow‑up meeting to review the chief’s full report.
Chief Perko asked council to consider legislation to regulate and license non‑911 EMS services and said the city and neighboring jurisdictions have been pursuing protocols and dispatch agreements with Hatzalah Cleveland. He emphasized that the goal is integration, not exclusion: volunteers “can be valuable allies, but only if they work in coordination with our 911 system and professional crews under shared protocols.”
No formal vote or ordinance resulted from the discussion; the chief said he will deliver a comprehensive report to council this week and recommended the safety committee examine the matter further.