Veteran Texas Firefighter Pushes for EMS in Fire Stations

WICHITA FALLS, Texas-- One veteran firefighter feels lives are being lost here in Wichita Falls all because of the current situation with the city's ambulance service. So he's now making a push to move the EMS to the care of the Wichita Falls Fire Department.

For over 20 years the thought of a fire based EMS program has been thrown around. But now Wichita Falls fire chaplin and fire veteran of 33 years, James Jeffries, is determined to make it happen.Jeffries says lives are depending on the change.

Wichita Falls Firefighters currently handle all first responder calls. But it's the private ambulance service that takes them to the hospital and James Jeffries says that "transfer of care" is where critical mistakes can often be made. "More mistakes made than if the fire dept has transferred them all the way to the hospital and to ER staff."

With a background as a paramedic and instructor Jeffires feels he truly understands how the system works and says the city's is inadequate. "With paramedics currently coming out of just one station on Seymour Highway some response times are not that great," said Jeffries.

Fire Chief Earl Foster agrees additional ambulances would help and stresses this push is not being made by the fire department. "It's not something we are pursuing. We are not out to try to take over the ambulance service," said Chief Foster.

Foster says as long as the private sector is working the city will stick to ambulance company's service. "Anytime you make 8 or 9 thousand calls a year every once in a while there's going to be a problem. But we work through those. There's nothing major we are not having any major problems."

"As fire department paramedics we have them for a full 30 years of training, knowledge experience stays with them. With the private ambulance service because they don't pay a lot of money there's a large turnover of people so 1 or 2 years experience and they're gone," said Jeffries.

Jeffries feels that alone hurts the students when they come from vernon college to intern and train." He says their training isn't long enough and feels they're not being trained to the fullest. "Experience is a fantastic teacher and allows you to do a better job." Jeffries understands there is a hefty price-tag with this change but adds citizen's lives deserve the very best.

Republished with permission of KAUZ-TV.