By Tom Scanlon
East Valley Tribune
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. 鈥� Five burly firefighters are crowded in a small resident鈥檚 room at a care facility.
鈥淛ean!鈥� one calls to a barely conscious woman who woke up to seizures on New Year鈥檚 Eve. 鈥淲e鈥檙e from the Scottsdale Fire Department 鈥� we鈥檙e going to take your vitals now!鈥�
After assessing this woman needed advanced treatment, the firefighters in the old days would request a Maricopa Ambulance crew to take over.
Not anymore.
Using the new protocol, the firefighters radio for the woman to be taken to a hospital in a brand-new Scottsdale Fire Department ambulance 鈥� or 鈥渞escue,鈥� in firefighter shorthand.
Moments after the ambulance request, a firefighter calls out:
鈥淩escue鈥檚 here!鈥�
It was a short ride for the ambulance and crew, as they were literally right across the street 鈥� dropping off another patient from a care facility at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.
Since Dec. 15 , the first of Scottsdale鈥檚 new, $450,000 ambulances has been darting around the city, delivering patients from care facilities and private residences to hospitals around Old Town .
That debut ambulance is housed at Fire Station 602, on Indian School and Miller roads.
How long did it take for the ambulance to get its first call?
Six minutes, said Brian Joseph, the fire department鈥檚 transportation manager.
It might have been a record response time, as the ambulance team scooped up a scooter rider hit by a car 鈥� right in front of the fire station.
Things have hardly slowed down since the Dec. 15 launch. The first ambulance and two that went into service shortly after answered 250 calls in less than a month.
If you have to be in an ambulance, Scottsdale鈥檚 vehicles are the top choice.
In addition to an unmistakable 鈥渘ew-car smell,鈥� the new emergency rigs have shiny equipment, digital screens showing patient vital signs, seatbelt airbags, a 鈥淟ucas device鈥� for automated CPR and many other cutting-edge add-ons.
Veteran paramedic Lane Henny and younger EMT Tyson Kaas love the new gear stored efficiently. But it鈥檚 the increased size of the bigger ambo that makes their tough jobs a touch easier.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of space back here 鈥� it鈥檚 awesome,鈥� Henny said, providing a quick tour after dropping off the patient.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like a hotel room.鈥�
He said the new ambulance workspaces are nearly twice the size of the Maricopa Ambulance fleet.
Every inch is crucial, as two and even three rescuers work on the most critically injured patients on the way to the hospital.
鈥淭his lets you give better patient care,鈥� Henny said.
Busy launch
The morning of the last day of 2024, Scottsdale鈥檚 calls from an automated dispatch system were nonstop.
A 96-year-old woman was experiencing 鈥�10 of 10" pain north of Shea Boulevard .
Moments later, a call came in for a chest pain patient on 78th Street and Cattletrack Road, quickly followed by an 鈥渋njured person鈥� at the south end of the city, 鈥渄ifficulty breathing鈥� in North Scottsdale and a fall in mid-town.
Shortly after the first ambulance in Old Town, two more went into service 鈥� housed at Station 608, on 96th Street and Cactus Road, and at Station 615, on Pima and Lone Mountain roads in far North Scottsdale.
The ambulance program is off to a speeding start, with the new rigs answering one call after another.
From Joseph鈥檚 managerial perspective, the planned efficiency is already clicking.
With most 911 calls the Scottsdale Fire Department answers being medically related, fire trucks are often dispatched to calls related to falls, chest pain, accidents and other medical situations.
Of 250 ambulance calls, Joseph noted, 72 required an additional advanced life-saving-certified member off of a fire truck to ride in with the patient.
鈥淭o compare with a contract third party transport system,鈥� he noted, 鈥渁ll 250 would have required an ALS member off of the fire truck to ride in with the patient because they are staffed with BLS care providers.鈥�
What does that mean?
鈥淲e were able to maintain full staffing on the fire apparatus as they are placed back in service for the next incident,鈥� Joseph said.
鈥淭his is a huge benefit for a variety of reasons to the overall efficiency and response to calls for 911 service.鈥�
Long awaited
The Scottsdale ambulance program has been a long time coming.
As Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield pointed out last March, Scottsdale has been trying to have its own ambulance service since it launched its own fire department 20 years ago.
In 2023, the city shelled out $1.6 million for four ambulances 鈥� more than a year before gaining a crucial 鈥淐ertificate of Necessity鈥� from the Arizona Department of Health Services
Ten months ago, Scottsdale Fire Chief Tom Shannon said the department was on pace for 鈥淛anuary 2025 first transported patient鈥� by the then-theoretical Scottsdale Fire ambulance service.
Shannon repeatedly said the program is crucial for 鈥渄oor-to-door鈥� service 鈥� in 2023, he noted, a third-party ambulance service took 18,000 Scottsdale residents and visitors to hospitals.
After City Council formally approved the program in mid-2024, Shannon and company beat the ambulance goal by a few weeks.
Maricopa Ambulance, which also operates in Glendale, Goodyear, Surprise and Chandler, has been working with the Scottsdale Fire Department since 2018. The private ambulance company will continue to work in Scottsdale, filling in gaps until the city ambulance program is up to full speed.
Shannon鈥檚 promise: 鈥淭he citizens of Scottsdale will benefit from an increased level of care through SFD鈥檚 ability to provide EMS service from its first response to hospital delivery.鈥�
The first year of running its own ambulance service would cost the city about $900,000, Shannon said.
After initial start-up costs, the program could be 鈥渞evenue鈥� neutral 鈥� or even make a small profit 鈥� by year four.
Firepower boost
While the new ambulances are technological marvels, they don鈥檛 run themselves.
The real 鈥渇irepower鈥� of the new program are the paramedics 鈥� who have advanced training in lifesaving 鈥� and emergency medical technicians.
According to Joseph, Scottsdale Fire鈥檚 team of 329 firefighters features 158 firefighter/paramedics and 137 Firefighter/EMT鈥檚.
More manpower is on the way.
This year, according to Shannon, Scottsdale Fire will have 20 firefighter/paramedics 鈥渄edicated to the ambulance operations.鈥�
Scottsdale firefighter/EMT/paramedic crews would grow from 20 the first year to 60 by the third year.
Shannon said the department will bill insurance companies a projected $5 million the first year, again tripling to $15 million in year three.
Training for the new crews in the new ambulances will take place at the city鈥檚 new police/fire training center 鈥� scheduled to open this week.
Last year, Shannon told the Progress, 鈥淩esponse times for ambulances are based on a 10 minute response time from their dispatched location.
鈥淐ity ambulance response times will meet or exceed 鈥� be faster than 鈥� our current provider due to the deployment location and methodology being seamlessly tied to our current fire stations and fire apparatus through our Computer Aided Dispatch system.鈥�
The Scottsdale Fire Department had 35,320 calls for service in 2023; of those, 23,789 were medical calls, with 18,000 resulting in patients taken to the hospital.
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