SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - On March 21, 2024, Springfield Fire Fighters Local 37 posted on Facebook:
"Right now in the City of Springfield there are no ambulances available for standby on a fire that firefighters are on in the 2300 block of S 13th St. At the exact time a patient that needed transport had to go in their personal vehicle bc of no ambulances. Let the City know that you support SFD helping with this problem by supplementing ambulances. Our citizens and first responders should have access to prompt transport."
The next day, Medics First of Springfield (an ambulance provider in Springfield) posted:
"Yesterday’s post from Springfield Fire Fighters Local 37 was categorically false. An investigation into the call processing and dispatch function has determined that there was never any request made for an ambulance to respond to the structure fire. As co-responders with our community police and fire services, Medics First always prioritizes the urgent needs of Springfield. Medics First looks forward to discussion regarding expectations, standards, and solutions for improvement of the EMS System in Springfield."
WAND's Carlee Bronkema talked to leaders from both organizations to figure out what really happened on March 21st.
According to Sangamon County Central Dispatch System, at 11:21 a.m., someone called 911 regarding a man having issues breathing. AT 11:22 a.m., someone called 911 about a structure fire. The Springfield Fire Department responded to both of these calls. Within a minute of each other, fire fighters at both scenes requested an ambulance. Both were told by dispatch that no ambulances were available. According to Sangamon County Central Dispatch System, they will only call ambulances when they say they are available. Because no Medics First Ambulances were available, Dispatch didn't call them.
Kainan Rinaberger, the president of Local 37 said a lack of ambulances has been a problem for the last four years. He says in 2022, there were 216 days where there was a call with no ambulances available.
"We've had instances, not just this year, not just last year, where sometimes patients have been driven in police vehicles to the hospital because we can't they need to get there and we can't get them and there's none available," said Rinaberger. "It's fortunate that there hasn't been necessarily deaths attributed to it. But at some point, you know, it's going to catch up."
Rinaberger says the way to fix this problem is to have the Springfield Fire Department run a few ambulances. One ambulance was included in the city's newest budget.
Medics First Regional CEO Greg Chance says there's a lack of communication between first responders and ambulance services in the city. He wants to see local stakeholders meet to discuss important changes to ambulance policies in the city.
"One of the challenges we have is that the city ordinance that regulates the ambulance licenses, and the license holders of those services in Springfield has not been updated since 2008, and I believe we've seen almost a 38% increase in the number of calls since that time," said Chance. "So I do believe we need to look at the regulatory requirements for the ambulance companies serving the citizens of Springfield. "
WAND News did reach out to Fire Chief Ed Canny regarding this problem but did not receive a response.
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