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ALS Downgrades...What's the Impact? Posted on July 25, 2026 at 12:35:02 by Marcus Welby
Has anyone at Local 2 done any sort of survey determining when an ALS company has been downgraded, what impact has it had on treatement? Can the BLS company maintain treatment until an ALS ambulance arrives as they do now? Since many tasks that EMT-B's perform now are inching towards what EMT-P's perform, does downgrading really matter anymore? The city is "testing the waters" to see what kind of community outrage or how many citizens are really being affected by this "lack of service." Local 2 EB does not have any contractual language in regards to how many ALS Fire companies are required, a FFPM being detailed to an ALS ambulance is not a variance, an ALS ambulance is not considered a variance with a detailed FFPM, so the city has alot of wiggle room.
I ask...is this the plan? Eliminate the ALS fire comppanies? Any FFPM under contractual obligation to maintain their status will be truly "cross trained" and can be utilized to cover furloughs and lay-ups on ALS ambulances as they are now? Is this the experiment? Are the citizens protesting, are the alderfolks complaining? Everyone is basically now required to be EMT-B's, so fire company staffing isn't an issue. Required to maintain 7-10 year EMT-P status...no problem, saving the money and reducing the budget. Requiring a 10% single role medics to be in each fire class will be out the window. No more "those paramedics are taking seniority" complaints will be out there. And you know, if a contract that was to be voted on, with a 2-3 year retro check, 16-20% raises, and all of the above, would be voted yes my an overwhelming majority of the membership.