ANN ARBOR, MI -- An observant eye may have noticed a new ambulance rolling along Ann Arbor’s streets.
The Ann Arbor Fire Department recently commissioned its first ambulance, introducing a black-and-red rig to the public on Friday, Feb. 24. The newest addition to the department caps off a six-month experiment launched last year meant to supplement Huron Valley Ambulance’s system.
Although Chief Mike Kennedy has long been drawing attention to ambulance delays, a recent shortage of emergency medical technicians led Ann Arbor City Council to approve a six-month trial agreement with HVA. The agreement, started in June 2022, allowed the fire department to use an HVA ambulance to transport patients.
Now, the fire department has purchased its own ambulance rig, allowing it to serve as a stop-gap for basic medical emergencies when HVA responders are on other calls. Ann Arbor City Council approved $300,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds for the purchase in December 2022.
“It’s a pretty seminal day for us to be able to finally do this,” Kennedy said.
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Ann Arbor firefighters are also trained EMTs, so staff on the ambulance are able to serve both as EMTs and be available for general firefighting duties.
Having EMTs available means paramedics with HVA, which are more highly trained, can be available for more life-threatening calls, Kennedy said.
“Somebody that is having a cardiac arrest or some other sort of issue out in Saline or Chelsea — where it’s a 20, 30 minute ride to the hospital — getting a paramedic to them is much more impactful,” Kennedy said.
Although the fire department can handle basic transport situations in the city, it will also be able to handle “transfer care,” Kennedy said, providing a first response while an HVA unit is en route.
There have been several hundred times in recent years that HVA ambulances were unavailable, leaving firefighters waiting on scene with patients for an extended time, Kennedy previously said.
During the trial period, the fire department responded to 31 calls.
“That was 31 incidents that they did not have rigs available that we were able to fill that gap for our residents,” Kennedy said. “So that was the gap that we were trying to fill with this rig.”
Although the ambulance is already responding to several calls per day, next steps are still unclear.
“It’s taken a lot to get here,” Kennedy said. “And we really are needed to just kind of see how this works.”
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