Wisc. Fire Department Introduces New, Smaller Vehicles for Medical Calls

April 04--City officials on Monday unveiled new vehicles the Milwaukee Fire Department will use to respond to some medical calls.

The "alternative response vehicles"-- large SUVs -- will be staffed by four firefighters for calls for emergency medical service, according to a news release.

The goal of using those vehicles is to reduce wear and tear on larger, more expensive fire engines and trucks, as well as to be more fuel efficient, the release says. Depending on the equipment on board, a new fire apparatus can cost anywhere between $500,000 to $1 million, or more.

The pilot program is launching at Station 39, 8025 W. Bradley Road, and Station 14, 6074 S. 13th St. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing and Ald. Terry Witkowski made the announcement Monday morning at Station 14.

The move comes as the Milwaukee Fire Department continues to refine options for responding to medical emergencies, which made up about 76% of all calls to the department in 2014, according to the most recent annual report available.

Since 2012, all graduates of the department's fire cadet program obtain a paramedic license. Last year, the department was among several near Milwaukee and Madison that received training for the Mobile Integrated Healthcare Program, which aims to help reduce the number of repeat emergency calls from chronically ill people.

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