Fire Chief Ryan Marlor says Moore may need more ambulances as EMS calls climb

Fire Chief Ryan Marlor told the Moore City Council on June 15 that rising emergency medical calls have strained Moore’s ambulance capacity and that an RFQ soliciting qualifications from third‑party ambulance providers underscores the need to reassess the city’s coverage.

“Last year the communication center processed roughly 7,000 EMS‑related calls,” Marlor said, adding that overall dispatches were about 72,000. He said EMS call volume has grown “about 5% annually” since 2015 and that overlapping calls—two or more simultaneous incidents—occurred at roughly a 50% rate, depleting resources.

Marlor told council the city currently has two ambulances under contract and that there have been occasions when no ambulance was physically in Moore because units were dispatched to neighboring Norman or other mutual‑aid requests. “So there have been times where we’ve been left with no trucks,” he said. “We may have to potentially look at additional ambulance units in the city of Moore moving forward.”

The RFQ, Marlor said, was designed to validate market capabilities, confirm industry standards and benchmark service expectations. Key evaluation criteria reported to council included staffing stability and depth, clinical‑quality reporting and transparency, response‑time compliance by hour/day/week, and the financial solvency of potential providers.

On staffing, Marlor said the department currently has “about nine paramedics” and an expanded scope of practice for some fire personnel to provide advanced on‑scene interventions when ambulances are delayed. He said a short‑term benchmark would be to have “five companies in place. Five companies with three shifts, 15,” and that the ultimate staffing goal is “to strive for 30 paramedics” to provide adequate depth for leaves and sickness.

Council members questioned whether Moore’s incumbent transport provider—identified in the presentation as Norman‑area MSTAT—had at times pulled units back to Norman for coverage. Marlor confirmed that mutual aid and system‑wide requests have occasionally left Moore without an ambulance and that mutual aid “should not be what is used to get the daily expectation done.” He did not provide a firm mutual‑aid response time estimate.

Marlor emphasized that the RFQ findings were informational and intended to inform next steps rather than mandate immediate change. “The RFQ process provided valuable benchmarking and industry insight for us,” he said. “The city’s EMS provider must remain adaptable, reliable, and sustainable.”

The council heard questions about facility use and posting practices for private ambulance companies; Marlor said respondents to the RFQ provided varying staffing and posting models, including using the city’s old Station 3 facility or posting units in off‑site locations to improve coverage.

No formal action was taken on the RFQ at the June 15 meeting; Marlor said the information will be used to guide future decisions about whether to change the current agreement, add ambulances, or pursue other operational changes. The presentation was explicitly informational and did not include a motion or vote.

What happens next: staff will use the RFQ benchmarking to develop options for council consideration, including potential changes to the city’s ambulance coverage model or provider contract.