# SBCFD introduces ambulance operator program



## Amberlamps916 (Sep 23, 2014)

San Bernardino County Fire is in its first stages of setting up a single function Medic/EMT ambulance program. They have their sights set on AMR's contracted areas next.


http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20140923/NEWS/140929925


https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1534081696805762&id=1400619100152023


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## Angel (Sep 23, 2014)

hmmm, id be interested. if the pay is decent

is this normal???

$11-13???

why?

http://www.sbcfire.org/viewer/attachment.ashx?id=60abc245-cfe5-46fb-b6ab-ee3ba42f9d29


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## DesertMedic66 (Sep 23, 2014)

Angel said:


> hmmm, id be interested. if the pay is decent
> 
> is this normal???
> 
> ...


For a paramedic pay no. That is lower than what AMR pays. That is about the amount that AMR pays their EMTs. 

Now for something that is through the fire department that is so low it's not really even funny.


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 23, 2014)

It's the retirement that entices most folks, that and the chance to hopefully transition to firefighter.


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 23, 2014)

I make $10.80 an hour as a medic on a 24 for AMR in the same area that these ambulance operators will be working in btw.


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## TRSpeed (Sep 24, 2014)

That is ridiculous! Like not even funny. I'm sire there retirement isn't the same as a "sworn" member. Just a county across the emts make more


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## DesertMedic66 (Sep 24, 2014)

What's even worse is we had half of the guys in my medic program test for the position. Their thinking was "I'll have to drop out of the medic program to get the job but who cares, they will surely pay for me to go through another medic program". 

In the SoCal area that is on the ground funny to believe that


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## TRSpeed (Sep 24, 2014)

That's dumb and the people that apply for that just make it the standard to accept those ridiculous wages and keep ems secondary to fire


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## Jim37F (Sep 24, 2014)

Shoot I get paid more than that as an EMT-B Ambulance Operator here in LA County, plus I'm in CalPERS


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 24, 2014)

Their retirement is CalPERS from what I read as well.


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## Angel (Sep 24, 2014)

DesertEMT66 said:


> What's even worse is we had half of the guys in my medic program test for the position. Their thinking was "I'll have to drop out of the medic program to get the job but who cares, they will surely pay for me to go through another medic program".
> 
> In the SoCal area that is on the ground funny to believe that



that is absurd. they'll be in for a rude awakening. yeeaa...FD is great an all but this just does not seem worth it. ugh...seems truly like a spit in the face. sure we make most of our money from ambulance transports, but lets these guys a FRACTION of what they deserve while they just pocket the rest FOR????????


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## avdrummerboy (Sep 24, 2014)

I give it a year tops before so called "Big Changes" will happen to this program! 911 doesn't pay and they aren't going to be doing dialysis transports (which only just pay) so this will be a fun ride to watch and I'll be right in the middle of three of those stations!


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## DesertMedic66 (Sep 24, 2014)

avdrummerboy said:


> I give it a year tops before so called "Big Changes" will happen to this program! 911 doesn't pay and they aren't going to be doing dialysis transports (which only just pay) so this will be a fun ride to watch and I'll be right in the middle of three of those stations!


Ahhh, they will just start asking the state for more money


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Sep 25, 2014)

Angel said:


> that is absurd. they'll be in for a rude awakening. yeeaa...FD is great an all but this just does not seem worth it. ugh...seems truly like a spit in the face. sure we make most of our money from ambulance transports, but lets these guys a FRACTION of what they deserve while they just pocket the rest FOR????????


...FIGHTING FIRES!!! They just drive the boo boo bus, firefighters are the real heroes, haven't you heard?


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## Angel (Sep 26, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> ...FIGHTING FIRES!!! They just drive the boo boo bus, firefighters are the real heroes, haven't you heard?



BARF! lol nothing against firefighters, honestly, but thats crap. the public is so grossly misinformed. their the' real true heros' and weird the dang taxi service or ambulance drivers thats underpaid and abused; by employers and patients a like.


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## Handsome Robb (Sep 26, 2014)

Wait you make 10.xx as a medic Addrobo?

I'll stop complaining now.


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 26, 2014)

Handsome Robb said:


> Wait you make 10.xx as a medic Addrobo?
> 
> I'll stop complaining now.



Yeah man, I'm trying to transfer out near Ventura or Santa Barbara. This is ridiculous.


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## TRSpeed (Sep 26, 2014)

Ventura starts at 13ish on 24s just sayin


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 26, 2014)

TRSpeed said:


> Ventura starts at 13ish on 24s just sayin



So I've heard, but would you rather work in the high desert (Victorville, Adelanto, Apple Valley, etc.) or much nicer areas if you had the choice?


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## TRSpeed (Sep 26, 2014)

Yes but the 2-3hr difference is not going to cover the cost of living difference at all. Ventura and similar valley can easily be double that of the HD and San Berndoo


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 26, 2014)

I realize that, but if I'm going to keep making crap wages and work in some of the most ghetto areas of California, I might as well live in a better area while going to school. It really wears you out after a while. I'd be living with roommates anyway so rent isn't really a big issue.


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## TRSpeed (Sep 26, 2014)

I guess. But living with roommates sucks when your used to living on your own and having privacy. Fortunately you probably don't have kids. You know anything about Santa Barbara pay?


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 26, 2014)

I don't mind. It's easier while going to school to have less rent to worry about. SB is between $18-22 with night differential from what I hear.


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## Angel (Sep 26, 2014)

just curious are there no unions in socal? i know up here, with union pay medics are starting at $24 i believe. which is decent.


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 26, 2014)

Angel said:


> just curious are there no unions in socal? i know up here, with union pay medics are starting at $24 i believe. which is decent.



We are union.


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## TransportJockey (Sep 26, 2014)

Handsome Robb said:


> Wait you make 10.xx as a medic Addrobo?
> 
> I'll stop complaining now.


I make 8 lol. But then again esch check has at least 128 hours of overtime on it.


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## Handsome Robb (Sep 26, 2014)

We're hiring. Start at 17.xx I'm somewhere in 19.xx now with two years as a medic.


TransportJockey said:


> I make 8 lol. But then again esch check has at least 128 hours of overtime on it.



Totally different lol That comes out to right about what I make base salary.


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## TRSpeed (Sep 26, 2014)

Addrobo said:


> I don't mind. It's easier while going to school to have less rent to worry about. SB is between $18-22 with night differential from what I hear.


Is that 24hr or 12hr rate?


Handsome Robb said:


> We're hiring. Start at 17.xx I'm somewhere in 19.xx now with two years as a medic.
> 
> 
> Totally different lol That comes out to right about what I make base salary.


12 or 24hr rate?


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## Handsome Robb (Sep 26, 2014)

Even if it were 24 hours it wouldn't matter. OT is anything over 40 hours in a week here. We work 4x12s or 3x16s, pay rate doesn't change between shifts unless you get an intern or FTO differential.


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## Amberlamps916 (Sep 26, 2014)

TRSpeed said:


> Is that 24hr or 12hr rate?
> 
> 12 or 24hr rate?



12


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## Tigger (Sep 26, 2014)

Handsome Robb said:


> Even if it were 24 hours it wouldn't matter. OT is anything over 40 hours in a week here. We work 4x12s or 3x16s, pay rate doesn't change between shifts unless you get an intern or FTO differential.


At my part time AMR place, OT is still anything over 40 but your base rate goes way down if you work 24s or 48s because of the guaranteed OT and presumed less "time on task." Which is crap to me considering that those cars run as many calls as the 12 hour crews yet they work more hours per week. Basically you have to take a pay cut (substantial too) for a better schedule. Awesome.


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## Angel (Sep 26, 2014)

Tigger said:


> At my part time AMR place, OT is still anything over 40 but your base rate goes way down if you work 24s or 48s because of the guaranteed OT and presumed less "time on task." Which is crap to me considering that those cars run as many calls as the 12 hour crews yet they work more hours per week. Basically you have to take a pay cut (substantial too) for a better schedule. Awesome.



thats how it is at my job too. we work more, but make less than the 12 hour crews. some weeks its not terrible because some days (in a 24) well run 0-3 calls. but when were running all day and night doing 5 hour transports it sucks.


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## VCEMT (Oct 9, 2014)

AMR Ventura or SB still pay better, than other places. Except, Gold Coast. They are union now and their union isn't doing much for them, from what I've heard from people I know out there. 911 and plenty of IFTs, don't expect less than.


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## avdrummerboy (Oct 9, 2014)

FTO time has started for the AO program and we're running with the new san bernardino county EMS folks!


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## Angel (Oct 9, 2014)

avdrummerboy said:


> FTO time has started for the AO program and we're running with the new san bernardino county EMS folks!



so...whats the difference of how calls are dispatched for you guys (amr right?) vs the AO people? im assuming they have their own ambulances?
 not sure if its where theyll jump on your rig and run critical calls are not. SoCal EMS is so confusing to me


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## Amberlamps916 (Oct 9, 2014)

Angel said:


> so...whats the difference of how calls are dispatched for you guys (amr right?) vs the AO people? im assuming they have their own ambulances?
> not sure if its where theyll jump on your rig and run critical calls are not. SoCal EMS is so confusing to me




San Bernardino County Fire only has ambulances in certain unincorporated parts of the county as well as the city of Hesperia. The AOs will be replacing limited term FFs and full timers on ambulances in all their service areas aside from Hesperia. Hesperia will retain limited term/full time staffing on their ambulances due to the SAFER grant.

This is how the high desert ambulance services areas are assigned:


AMR highs desert runs primary 911 ambulance responses in: Adelanto, Apple Valley, El Mirage, Helendale/Silver Lakes, unincorporated parts of Hesperia, Oak Hills, Oro Grande, certain parts of North Phelan, Summit Valley, and Victorville.


San Bernardino County Fire runs primary 911 ambulance responses in: Crestline and  certain surrounding communites, Hesperia, Lake Arrowhead, Lucerne Valley, Phelan, Wrightwood, and Yucca Valley. Again, the AOs will replace existing personnel in all those areas aside from Hesperia.


These cities/communites are in close vicinity of each other with both AMR/SBCFD providing mutual aid almost on a daily basis due to severe bed delays (it's not uncommon for ambulances in this county to wait 6-12 hours for a bed!!!!! There's even a protocol allowing one crew to watch multiple patients due to all the strain the bed delays have put on the 911 system.


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## avdrummerboy (Oct 10, 2014)

As to dispatching where I'm at, we have a our own dispatch (non PSAP, i.e. not a call intake center!) Commcenter does the dispatching for the county units and we all get the same pages, yes we still use pagers. How it's done is kinda nonsensical to me as with the new setup (they also have a box running out of Joshua Tree,) they send a county ambulance as the 'fire' side of things and we go to our transport areas with them to transport in our own ambulances. Waste of resources if you ask me, but no one asked me so that's how it's done!


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## Amberlamps916 (Oct 10, 2014)

avdrummerboy said:


> As to dispatching where I'm at, we have a our own dispatch (non PSAP, i.e. not a call intake center!) Commcenter does the dispatching for the county units and we all get the same pages, yes we still use pagers. How it's done is kinda nonsensical to me as with the new setup (they also have a box running out of Joshua Tree,) they send a county ambulance as the 'fire' side of things and we go to our transport areas with them to transport in our own ambulances. Waste of resources if you ask me, but no one asked me so that's how it's done!


Ahhhh I see that you might possibly be employed with MBA.


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## DesertMedic66 (Oct 10, 2014)

Speaking about waisted resources the area I am doing my medic internship at has an area where they will send out 1 BLS Fire engine, 3 ALS Fire engines, and 1 ALS ambulance for any 911 call that comes in.


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## Amberlamps916 (Oct 10, 2014)

DesertEMT66 said:


> Speaking about waisted resources the area I am doing my medic internship at has an area where they will send out 1 BLS Fire engine, 3 ALS Fire engines, and 1 ALS ambulance for any 911 call that comes in.


Dude, where? I know Redlands city seems like overkill sometimes but that just might take the take.


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## DesertMedic66 (Oct 10, 2014)

Addrobo said:


> Dude, where? I know Redlands city seems like overkill sometimes but that just might take the take.


Some parts deep in yucaipa and calimesa. Having 4 engines and an ambulance all on a small residential street was unique. Neighbors coming out of there houses asking "do we need to evacuate?"


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## Amberlamps916 (Oct 10, 2014)

DesertEMT66 said:


> Some parts deep in yucaipa and calimesa. Having 4 engines and an ambulance all on a small residential street was unique. Neighbors coming out of there houses asking "do we need to evacuate?"


Hahahaha wow.


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## avdrummerboy (Oct 10, 2014)

I might just be!


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## Jim37F (Oct 10, 2014)

DesertEMT66 said:


> Speaking about waisted resources the area I am doing my medic internship at has an area where they will send out 1 BLS Fire engine, 3 ALS Fire engines, and 1 ALS ambulance for any 911 call that comes in.


4 engines for a medical?? That's almost as much as a structure fire response here. Yikes I thought it was bad when we dispatch a ladder truck and an engine plus ambulance (truck because it's the closest, engine is ALS, ambulance is BLS)


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## Amberlamps916 (Oct 10, 2014)

Jim37F said:


> 4 engines for a medical?? That's almost as much as a structure fire response here. Yikes I thought it was bad when we dispatch a ladder truck and an engine plus ambulance (truck because it's the closest, engine is ALS, ambulance is BLS)


Seriously man, whenever I visit my grandparents in Glendale and see a massive ladder truck rolling code 3 through those packed apartment streets......I respect the EMD system in San Bernardino City a whole lot more.


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## Angel (Oct 10, 2014)

3 is just ridiculous. You know those guys probably think the same...we're lucky if the engine stays on our entire call. 
(One day, toward the end of an assessment, I looked up and they were gone.) not something I'm used to


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## Jim37F (Oct 10, 2014)

Addrobo said:


> Seriously man, whenever I visit my grandparents in Glendale and see a massive ladder truck rolling code 3 through those packed apartment streets......I respect the EMD system in San Bernardino City a whole lot more.


Don't get me wrong, I'd love an EMD more than "Did they call 911? Yes-Send an Engine and Ambulance", but even on the rare occasion they wake the truckies up it's still better than 4 engines showing up routinely (not trying to bash you Desert, Lord knows my system is far from perfect..)

Personally I think that if they're gonna use the engines as ALS squads they should tone out the trucks for first response to all the other miscellaneous fire calls that aren't full assignments but oh well, at least we're not quite as bad as other departments that'll tone out a ladder truck and pumper (out of the same station) for BLS level calls as a regular first option


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