In an effort to free up units for more critical calls, a South Carolina fire department is cutting back on its 9-1-1 medical responses that don't involve life-threatening situations.
The Charleston Fire Department now will only respond to non-life threatening medical calls, such as nausea or earaches, if an emergency medical service worker asks for help, The Charleston Post and Courier reports. Fire crews might also be sent if the EMS response time is expected to be more than 10 minutes.
Under the old system, the fire department sent units on all medical calls, and personnel could treat patients but not take them to the hospital. Over a three-year period, fire crews responded to more than 14,000 non-life threatening calls, according to the newspaper.
The change also means Charleston is in line with departments in other nearby communities that have been operating under a similar policy for the past several years.
"Although there are emergencies every day — whether they’re life-threatening or not — for the emergencies that are the most serious, I want to make sure that we have the greatest chance of having a fire unit within four or five minutes of that," Charleston Fire Chief Dan Curia told The Post and Courier. "I feel good that we’re making the change just to manage the risk."
