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Glens Falls fire chief outlines near-4,000 annual calls, paramedic training pipeline and interagency ambulance options
Summary
Chief Smith told the board the Glens Falls Fire Department handles nearly 4,000 calls a year, and the city is exploring an interagency transport arrangement to retain revenue under its certificate of need and better manage non-emergency transports.
Chief Smith and department leadership delivered an extended operational briefing Wednesday that highlighted rising call volumes, staffing and options for ambulance transport.
Chief Smith said the fire department has evolved into a paid paramedic-firefighter model and now responds to nearly 4,000 calls annually. The chief said that traditionally this staffing model allowed the city to provide ambulance transport without contracting out, and that billing now covers part of the department's costs (the chief said about $900,000 helps offset the roughly $6 million fire-department budget). He warned, though, that crews are "maxed out" and the department must balance service expansion against legacy personnel costs such as retirement and insurance.
Deputy Chief Monarch reported training and operational metrics: 304 calls in October (260 EMS-related) and 3,241 year-to-date runs (figure provided in the report). The department recently hosted confined-space training and added 13 firefighters qualified for such responses; a paramedic training pathway was also described that shortens training time via a partnership to get paramedics into service faster.
Chief Smith said the Department of Health has recommended interagency arrangements as one way to handle transports the city cannot absorb without overburdening crews. He described a possible arrangement with neighboring agencies in Queensbury, Monroe and West Glens Falls that would allow the city to retain a share of revenue under its certificate of need while using partner ambulances for transports. The board asked members to review the draft interagency transport MOU and come back with questions next month. No formal vote was recorded on the MOU during the meeting.
The board accepted the chief's report on a voice vote and later moved to an executive session for personnel matters.
