Public hearing on private ambulance draws split views; council approves contract with Haines Ambulance on consent

Alexander City held a public hearing on January 6 to receive comments about authorizing a private ambulance provider to perform ambulance transport in the city. The hearing featured speakers from the fire department, active EMS personnel and Haines Ambulance representatives; council later approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter an agreement with Haines Ambulance as part of the consent agenda.

Nut graf: Fire department leaders and active EMS professionals described staffing, training and operational impacts tied to the city providing ambulance transports; supporters and company representatives said contracting a private provider could reduce strain on firefighters and ensure more consistent transport coverage.

During the hearing, Jeff Brewer, a captain with the Alexander City Fire Department, said he supported adding the private service and described operational strain from high transport volumes: he traced the growth of non‑emergency transports to policy changes and said extended out‑of‑town transports remove local personnel from response for hours, affecting training and readiness. Paramedic and EMS instructor Jessica Duncan described herself as neither wholly for nor against the contract; she urged council to require appropriate staffing levels and paramedic capability on contracted units.

Kirk Barrett, chief operations officer for Haynes (Haines) Ambulance, said the company has operated in Alabama for more than 50 years and that it would initially deploy one staffed ambulance to Alexander City and expand coverage as needed; Barrett said his company was prepared to begin recruiting and could place one staffed unit in service quickly after council authorization.

Council discussion and public comment focused on specific operational questions: will contracted vehicles be staffed with paramedics, who provides backfill when contracted units leave the city for long interfacility transfers, and whether revenue from hospital transfers will shift from the city to the private provider and how that will affect department budgets. Fire and city staff said many hospital transfers currently provide offsetting revenue for the fire department budget; speakers asked how losing those transports would affect city finances and staffing.

Ending: Council approved the resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Haines Ambulance as part of the consent agenda vote earlier in the meeting. The contract language, staffing requirements and operational details will be the subject of post‑approval implementation and coordination between the fire department, city administration and the contractor.