Petamocto said:
My next question though is whether or not the Paramedics actually have anyone significantly powerful (other than Unions that a lot of people don't like) enough to do anything about it?
Major-General Richard Rohmer is Honourary Chief of Toronto EMS:
http://www.torontoems.ca/main-site/about/history-files/heraldic-grant.html
But, nobody with any political muscle. That's expensive. Certainly we have nothing to compete with FIREPAC - Canada ( Fire - Political Action Committee ):
http://www.iaff.org/canada/firepac/index.htm
Police, Fire and Paramedics in Toronto all belong to unions. Police and Fire call their's associations.
Paramedics belong to the "Outside Workers Union" ( Welders, Garbagemen, etc. ). We are no use to them as a strike weapon since the Essential Service Agreement ( ESA ) of 2001:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_01a10_e.htm
Unlike Police and Fire, Paramedics are not considered an Essential Service.
Ambulance ESA is what lead to the great garbage strike in Toronto last summer.
But, from 1972-2002 ( ESA came in 2001 ) Metro Ambulance was their "Atomic Bomb". Garbage trucks used to pull over ambulances to remind us of that fact- not too sublety either. Said so in the papers. They used us to scare the public into giving in to their demands. We were just used as pawns by the union until the next contract negotiations. Metro was spared an outside workers strike for those three decades. Then, with ESA, came a small strike in 2002, followed by a big one in 2009.
In 1972, Local 43 ( Metro ) voted 97% to take ambulance out on strike with them. First time that ever happened ( as far as I know ) And they did too!. The bitterness from the public over that lasted for years. For almost 40 years now, we have been trying, without sucess, to be declared an Essential Service. Just like police and fire.
Petamocto said:
1 - The ratio they give of fire stations to EMS halls is completely out of whack of what I would think it would be (and more than likely explains why the common perception is that a fire truck always gets there first.
That was Roberta.
There are about 80 firehouses and 40 ambulance stations in Toronto.
The ratio of Firefighters to Paramedics in Toronto is about 3100 : 850.
But, the point to remember is that it is very unlikely the ambulance will respond from station. Mobile Deployment is the method used in High-Performance EMS. That is, the ambulance will standby at "walk and don't walk" until sent, which
usually is not long. It's all about Unit Hour Utilization UHU. Toronto, like many other cities, will likley have Central Book on Stations CBOS in the future. That means, instead of 40 ambulance stations, the city will have four CBOS. Best way to describe the idea is like terminals for bus drivers.
It is also known as System Status Management SSM. Mobile Deployment eliminates "Chute ( not shoot ) Time. Chute Time is the time taken for Paramedics to leave the ambulance station after being notified of a
call. Also referred to as "reaction time". ie: Just drop it into gear, and put the pedal on the metal.
I've seen some funny things happen at at 0400 with that! ;D ( Don't park near water! )
Petamocto said:
I would think that people require EMS far more than fire fighting services, so as an outsider one could think that the ratio should be the other way and there should be 5-6 Ambulance ports for every fire hall.
:worms:
Petamocto said:
2 - If they were co-located, why would one of each get sent to every call?
Duplication never used to happen. People have become used to it, but they used to ask us, "I called the Paramedics, why did they send a fire engine?"
Do the benefits of sending a fire apparatus in tandem with an ambulance outweigh increased risk a collision, or a "wake accident"?
Also, as I said, the ambulance is not likely to be in station. Of course, the Emergency Medical Dispatchers EMDs know where they are at all times.
Petamocto said:
I don't see what would be wrong logistically with putting them in the same buildings, and nobody would have to lose their identity but now you have one set of hydro bills to pay, etc.
There is no great need for ambulance stations, because, like I said, they are little more than places to park your PMV and a locker. Your office is the street.
Funny thing, they are better now, but if I were to tell you of the places that we called "ambulance stations" you would never believe me. Not in a million years. But, we had a lot of fun anyway.
Toronto Fire and EMS share the same HQ at 4330 Dufferin St., as well as some station properties. But, in all cases ( administration, communication and operations, fleet Maintenance, planning and operational support, and materials management/logistics ) they are separated physically by brick walls. Same thing at the Academy. Both services operate independently.
For example, there are combined fire and EMS stations. The crews are literally
segregated separated by brick walls. Each department has their own truck drivers who deliver necessities such as toilet paper and soap etc.
"FDNY was also hoping that EMS (which has a large number of women and minorities) would solve FDNY's racial problem (The New York City Fire Department was about 94% white male at the time, and the Federal Government was looking into why it was that way.)":
http://www.fdnyemswebsite.com/
