SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — For years, a local fire chief has called for a desperate change to his city's EMS system.
He believes without a change, local residents aren't as safe as they could be. But now, after a large study, a new proposal could change that.
Scranton's Fire Chief John Judge wants to be ready in case of any emergency that happens in his community.
He feels that's going to take changing Scranton's current EMS system, and this week was about starting that conversation.
Pennsylvania Ambulance is the only EMS provider in the city of Scranton and the private company is not under contract.
Scranton Fire Chief John Judge says that needs to change.
"I can tell you the way that we've been doing it the last 25 to 30 years in the city of Scranton we need to change," Chief Judge explained.
Chief Judge says historically there have been two to three EMS providers in the city and one has gone out of business.
On Tuesday, he offered potential changes to Scranton's City council.
"It's very necessary. the biggest health decision the city will ever make," Chief Judge said.
Right now, there are plenty of options on the table being examined.
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Among them is bringing in a civilian EMS crew and another is training existing fire personnel to do the job.
"We have to provide this so we have to find a way to do this, and if it's by putting our own on, if we are forced into doing that, that's what we'll do," Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl said.
Chief Judge says his main priority is response time.
He says right now, the average response time is nearly 18 minutes from dispatch to arrival.
In one new model, the response time would be cut down to eight minutes, using five ambulances on a 24-hour shift and four ambulances on a 12-hour shift.
The city council is staying optimistic about the new proposals but is also very aware of how costly they can be.
"This is a huge decision. To put five ambulances on the road in the first year is $5,000,000. Nobody wants the taxes to go up so what is the answer," Smurl stated.
"I will push and drive that change as much as I can and whatever flushed out I think it will be better than what we have here today," Chief Judge added.
Judge feels his department and the city are behind the eight ball with other cities in the area like Wilkes-Barre having an updated model.
He says it hasn't been since the 90s the Scranton Fire Department has had an EMS.
In the state of Pennsylvania, it's required to provide such a service.
