By Bill Carey
EMS1
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District unveiled a new squad car to respond to EMS calls in the Arden-Arcade and Carmichael areas.
The fire department has previously tested this type of vehicle and confirmed its effectiveness, ABC10 reported.
“They can respond to low acuity medical aids, minor vehicle accidents. People that may just need some help getting up or locked themselves out of their vehicles,” Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn said. “There’s a number of things that this resource can do in lieu of having a 40,000-pound fire engine showing up.”
Staffed by two paramedics, the squad car is expected to respond to over 3,000 calls annually.
“In the past 15 years, Sacramento County has grown by about 9%, and we’ve seen a 67% increase in our call volume. We are really having to think outside the box, get innovative in how we conduct business, so we can continue to move forward,” Wilbourn said.
The squad car will also be capable of responding to small fires and has proven so effective that other agencies, including the Sacramento Fire Department, are considering adopting the same approach for their fire stations.