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CARES teams expand demand as Madison Fire tells council about non‑police crisis responses
Summary
Madison Fire's CARES program reported steady growth in calls and clients since 2021, handled roughly 12,000 calls and more than 7,000 unique clients to date, and is piloting regional service in Sun Prairie while tracking unmet requests to decide future expansion.
Madison Fire Department briefed the Common Council on CARES (Community Alternative Response Emergency Services), a co‑response crisis team that pairs community paramedics with behavioral‑health crisis workers.
"The demand for service on CARES has gone nowhere but up," Assistant Fire Chief Chris Hammes said, summarizing the service's expansion since 2021. Hammes said CARES now operates three weekday teams (staggered hours) plus a weekend team; since inception the program has responded to roughly 12,000 calls…
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