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Mo. county EMS takes over city ambulance service as FD shifts personnel for fire calls

SCCAD will add coverage for the City of Saint Charles, letting the fire department reassign personnel to an additional fire apparatus as both agencies plan for rising EMS call volume

Mo. county EMS takes over city ambulance service as FD shifts personnel for fire calls.jpg

A SCCAD ambulance.

St. Charles County Ambulance District/Facebook

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — The Saint Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) will handle emergency transport services as the city’s fire department reallocates personnel to better serve the community’s fire calls.

After years of discussion, both sides feel the time is right. On Sept. 30, SCCAD will begin adding the City of Saint Charles to its coverage and will shift personnel to address an anticipated increase in EMS calls, Spectrum News reported.

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“We found that transitioning to Saint Charles County Ambulance District as the primary transport agency allowed us to then relocate some of our personnel onto an additional fire apparatus that has been greatly needed,” St. Charles Fire Department Battalion Chief, PIO Kelly Hunsel said.

Two units will be decommissioned from the city fire department, and SCCAD will stand up two additional units on Sept. 30. One city ambulance will continue operating for several more months before SCCAD eventually takes it over as well.

“In the future, we do know that we’re going to need some additional infrastructure to support the system and continue delivering those nice short response times that everybody is used to,” SCCAD PIO Kyle Gaines said. “We’ve got a couple of locations we’re working through land acquisition right now.”



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Bill Carey is the associate editor for FireRescue1.com and EMS1.com. A former Maryland volunteer firefighter, sergeant, and lieutenant, Bill has written for several fire service publications and platforms. His work on firefighter behavioral health garnered a 2014 Neal Award nomination. His ongoing research and writings about line-of-duty death data is frequently cited in articles, presentations, and trainings. Have a news tip? He can be reached at news@lexipol.com.