Medic News
I am using this live journal to educate you all in my field. This article is about a small community in ottawa, so the call numbers are significantly less than say Barrie, but the ratio between fire and ambulnace calls are accurate.
Review fire service costs, councillor says
In era of fewer blazes, Holmes says it's time to look for waste
Ken Gray
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Just a month after she called for the Ottawa police service to be audited,
Councillor Diane Holmes now says the fire department must be vetted for
waste.
Ms. Holmes says the fire service has become very expensive in a society that
has fewer blazes. "We don't have the same number of fire hazards as we had
25 years ago," she said.
She said independent consultants should be hired to ask questions about
statistics that say the fire department answers fewer calls at a higher cost
than either paramedics or police officers.
The figures, provided to the Citizen by the city and the Police Services
Board, show that individual firefighters answer an average of 30 calls a
year, paramedics answer an average of 336 calls and police officers 296.
Each fire call costs an average of $3,401, a paramedic call $257, and a
police call $486.
Total costs of putting a firefighter in the field are $103,292, a paramedic
costs $86,752, and a police officer $143,992. Police Chief Vince Bevan said
his cost per officer becomes much lower when the 450 civilian personnel who
do much of the paperwork for officers on the street are considered.
Senior police officers, firefighters and paramedics earn salaries in the
$60,000 range.
The paramedic service has twice in recent years brought in consultants to
discover how the service might be best run, Ms. Holmes said.
Now it is time to do the same for police and fire, to see if efficiencies
can be found there, she said.
"It's just a good way of doing business," the Somerset councillor said.
Councillor Herb Kreling said he will ask the Police Services Board, which he
chairs, to invite city auditor general Alain Lalonde to conduct an audit of
the police service to find efficiencies.
Mr. Kreling, Chief Bevan and Mr. Lalonde met Oct. 7 to discuss the idea,
which the chief says he supports.
Although Chief Bevan says he supports the idea of finding ways to cut costs,
he cautioned that comparing the three emergency services is like judging
"apples, oranges and pears." Each service has a different mandate and
different methodology, he said.
Councillor Diane Deans, chairwoman of the emergency protective services
committee, said the low call numbers for fire show how successful the
service's prevention campaign has been.
The numbers also reinforce the need for more paramedics, she said. "Aging
demographics are putting more pressure on paramedics," Ms. Deans said.
The paramedic system is designed to take 65,000 calls, she said, but is
likely to receive 90,000 next year.
Her committee has already approved 14 paramedics and she would like to see
52 hired in total.
Ms. Deans supports keeping the fire department numbers where they are.
"You want them to be there when they are needed," she said. Firefighters are
not just there to respond to blazes. They must train, stay in top physical
shape and learn new skills, Ms. Deans said.
Ms. Deans rejected a proposal earlier this week by councillors Jan Harder
and Maria McRae to integrate emergency services using firefighters trained
in first aid when an ambulance is not available.
Firefighters do not have the level of expertise for advanced paramedic work
and training them would be prohibitively expensive, Ms. Deans said.
"Would you want a paramedic responding to a fire call?"
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004
Review fire service costs, councillor says
In era of fewer blazes, Holmes says it's time to look for waste
Ken Gray
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Just a month after she called for the Ottawa police service to be audited,
Councillor Diane Holmes now says the fire department must be vetted for
waste.
Ms. Holmes says the fire service has become very expensive in a society that
has fewer blazes. "We don't have the same number of fire hazards as we had
25 years ago," she said.
She said independent consultants should be hired to ask questions about
statistics that say the fire department answers fewer calls at a higher cost
than either paramedics or police officers.
The figures, provided to the Citizen by the city and the Police Services
Board, show that individual firefighters answer an average of 30 calls a
year, paramedics answer an average of 336 calls and police officers 296.
Each fire call costs an average of $3,401, a paramedic call $257, and a
police call $486.
Total costs of putting a firefighter in the field are $103,292, a paramedic
costs $86,752, and a police officer $143,992. Police Chief Vince Bevan said
his cost per officer becomes much lower when the 450 civilian personnel who
do much of the paperwork for officers on the street are considered.
Senior police officers, firefighters and paramedics earn salaries in the
$60,000 range.
The paramedic service has twice in recent years brought in consultants to
discover how the service might be best run, Ms. Holmes said.
Now it is time to do the same for police and fire, to see if efficiencies
can be found there, she said.
"It's just a good way of doing business," the Somerset councillor said.
Councillor Herb Kreling said he will ask the Police Services Board, which he
chairs, to invite city auditor general Alain Lalonde to conduct an audit of
the police service to find efficiencies.
Mr. Kreling, Chief Bevan and Mr. Lalonde met Oct. 7 to discuss the idea,
which the chief says he supports.
Although Chief Bevan says he supports the idea of finding ways to cut costs,
he cautioned that comparing the three emergency services is like judging
"apples, oranges and pears." Each service has a different mandate and
different methodology, he said.
Councillor Diane Deans, chairwoman of the emergency protective services
committee, said the low call numbers for fire show how successful the
service's prevention campaign has been.
The numbers also reinforce the need for more paramedics, she said. "Aging
demographics are putting more pressure on paramedics," Ms. Deans said.
The paramedic system is designed to take 65,000 calls, she said, but is
likely to receive 90,000 next year.
Her committee has already approved 14 paramedics and she would like to see
52 hired in total.
Ms. Deans supports keeping the fire department numbers where they are.
"You want them to be there when they are needed," she said. Firefighters are
not just there to respond to blazes. They must train, stay in top physical
shape and learn new skills, Ms. Deans said.
Ms. Deans rejected a proposal earlier this week by councillors Jan Harder
and Maria McRae to integrate emergency services using firefighters trained
in first aid when an ambulance is not available.
Firefighters do not have the level of expertise for advanced paramedic work
and training them would be prohibitively expensive, Ms. Deans said.
"Would you want a paramedic responding to a fire call?"
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004