WASHINGTON — Fire Chief Gregory Dean on Thursday described a dire ambulance shortage to a D.C. Council committee, just days before a vote on an emergency bill to supplement service with private ambulances.
After a six-month review of the department, the newly installed chief determined it didn’t have sufficient resources to do the job, particularly in responding to ambulance calls.
“Both our people and our equipment are overwhelmed — and on a daily basis,” he told the committee.
The full council is set to vote Oct. 6 on emergency legislation which would temporarily contract with private ambulances to handle low-priority calls.
A surge in calls, setting record highs each month, has strained the fleet. One city official, who did not speak at the hearing, said ambulances were “being run into the ground.”
Over a seven-year period, the ambulance fleet was static, but calls increased 28 percent and patient transports increased 40 percent, Dean said.
“Although we expect delivery of new, refurbished or leased transport units by the end of fiscal 2016, our planned replacement schedule will only allow us to create a sufficient reserve fleet and maintain the status quo,” he says.
Ambulances are in nearly continuous use, leaving little time for vehicle maintenance and repairs.
Council members have largely supported the temporary fix, while having numerous questions about the details.
It’s unclear how many private ambulances would even be sufficient to fill the gap.
“Every time we work with a third party to supposedly create efficiency and build time and cost savings, I’ve seen none of it,” says Councilmember At-Large Elissa Silverman.
During peak call periods, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services often has no available ambulances.
It has increasingly relied on mutual aid from neighboring counties. In other cases, critically injured patients have been transported by fire trucks.
