Ambulance Service Returns to MO Fire Department

Aug. 5, 2019

The University City Fire Department has hired a dozen firefighter/paramedics to handle ambulance emergency calls after the city had outsourced the service for four years.

By Mark Schlinkmann

Source St. Louis Post-Dispatch

University City Fire Dept Mo 5d485da1e9180

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO—After four years of contracting with a private company, University City on Saturday moved its emergency ambulance service back to the city-run fire department.

Mayor Terry Crow, who as a City Council member had opposed the outsourcing, said the city had hired 12 new firefighter/paramedics to help staff the service and supplement the existing fire department workforce.

A celebratory event marking the switchover was held Saturday at one of the city's fire stations.

The shift in 2015 to Gateway Ambulance, championed by then-Mayor Shelley Welsch in part as a cost-cutting move, came amid acrimonious political infighting on the council. Gateway was bought by Arkansas-based Medic One earlier this year.

Supporters of the outsourcing also said it would improve response times and reduce the possibility of exhausted firefighters working 48-hour shifts. Critics warned that the quality of service would go down. The city's firefighters union also worked against the plan.

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