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9‑1‑1, EMS and fire chiefs brief House finance committee on fleet, staffing and jurisdictional gaps
Summary
Officials outlined ambulance and fire‑truck procurements, EMS recruitment challenges, the 9‑1‑1 bureau’s restricted funding model and a jurisdictional dispatch issue that committee members said needs clarification after a fatal flooding incident.
During the April 29 hearing, leaders of Puerto Rico’s EMS, 9‑1‑1 and Fire Corps described immediate equipment deliveries, planned fleet renewals and continuing difficulties recruiting and retaining frontline personnel.
Lede details and why it matters Emergency Medical Services, the 9‑1‑1 bureau and the Fire Corps told the House finance panel about multiple upcoming vehicle deliveries and about gaps that could affect response times, especially if recruitment and retention goals are not met. Lawmakers pressed officials for details about funding sources because several programs — ambulances, special equipment and station repairs — rely heavily on federal grants or restricted funding streams.
Key agency updates - EMS (Abner Gómez Cortés): The EMS bureau reported a consolidated budget request near $29.74 million and said purchases are under way for 42 new ambulances to replace older units (eight were already in production or en route). The bureau said it plans to receive four bariatric ambulances in May and expects to continue staggered deliveries over the coming year. EMS staff described a national‑scale recruitment challenge for paramedics and said the oversight board approved an $800 monthly retention reprogramming to support hiring efforts. - 9‑1‑1 (José Reyes Cañada): The 9‑1‑1 bureau confirmed it receives no general‑fund appropriations and is financed by dedicated telephone charges; those funds are restricted by federal rules and overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. Reyes said there is an unresolved historical matter in which about $20 million in 9‑1‑1 funds was held in past administrations and has outstanding reconciliation questions; the bureau is tracking that issue. - Fire Corps (Josué Piñeiro Torres): The Fire Corps reported equipment requirements and delivery schedules; officials said 19 pumpers and one aerial ladder were due and that private‑sector funding settlements (including Volkswagen‑funded purchases) will be used for additional apparatus. The fire chief also noted that fire calls numbered about 24,000 last year and that forest fires have recently increased in frequency.
Noted operational incident and jurisdictional question Committee members raised a recent social‑media‑reported drowning during flash flooding. Legislators asked for clarification after public accounts said 9‑1‑1 operators directed the caller that the incident was outside a municipality’s jurisdiction. 9‑1‑1 and emergency management officials described the normal routing protocol (calls are geolocated and routed to the most proximate municipal center first) and said that when a municipality declines jurisdiction or does not answer, the state emergency management function takes the call and dispatches state responders; the bureau reported the state unit arrived within standards in that case and said it would provide a fuller timeline to the committee.
Pilot programs and equipment upgrades Officials described a 9‑1‑1‑led pilot that has distributed roughly 300 wristband locators for people with Alzheimer’s and other cognitive conditions and said the goal is to expand the pilot toward 1,000 recipients. The department also controls ShotSpotter and other acoustic‑detection technologies at the DCP level and is studying expansion options.
Requests and follow‑up Lawmakers requested: a list of municipalities integrated with 9‑1‑1 and the status of outstanding municipal billing for emergency‑service reimbursements; an itemized schedule and cost for the ambulance fleet replacement; all procurement timetables for the 19 fire pumpers and ladder truck; and a formal timeline and after‑action report about the flooding incident’s call handling and dispatch timeline.
