# Emergency ambulance service



## wtferick (Sep 9, 2015)

Finally turn 21 and really interested to join the company since I was 19. Any tips guys? Other than applying lol anything this company specifically looks for?


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## NPO (Sep 12, 2015)

wtferick said:


> Finally turn 21 and really interested to join the company since I was 19. Any tips guys? Other than applying lol anything this company specifically looks for?


In OC? Why EMERGENCY? From what I know of them, they are a nothing special operation.


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## wtferick (Sep 13, 2015)

NPO said:


> In OC? Why EMERGENCY? From what I know of them, they are a nothing special operation.


Something about emergency man idk haha it's been a company I've been dying to work for lol


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## NPO (Sep 13, 2015)

wtferick said:


> Something about emergency man idk haha it's been a company I've been dying to work for lol


Do they do anything cool? I always thought they were a small shady company. I've only ever seen them at crappy SNFs


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## wtferick (Sep 13, 2015)

NPO said:


> Do they do anything cool? I always thought they were a small shady company. I've only ever seen them at crappy SNFs


I mean they have regular cct bls ift 911. I really like small companies aswell. Makes it just a little easier to reach the person I need to reach.


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## CALEMT (Sep 13, 2015)

If I lived in OC its a no brainer. I would apply at Care. If I didn't really care where I worked I would apply at Hall in Kern Co.


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## wtferick (Sep 13, 2015)

CALEMT said:


> If I lived in OC its a no brainer. I would apply at Care. If I didn't really care where I worked I would apply at Hall in Kern Co.


Not really wanting to float around.  But other than that yes I would work at hall. Hands down.    I am just not ready to actually move out towards that area at the moment.


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## NPO (Sep 13, 2015)

My only problem with Care, (and most OC/LA companies) is if you ever want to be a Paramedic you'll have to get a new job. And those companies know that, and they plan for turnover. In my book, that's no way to plan.


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## CALEMT (Sep 13, 2015)

NPO said:


> My only problem with Care, (and most OC/LA companies) is if you ever want to be a Paramedic you'll have to get a new job. And those companies know that, and they plan for turnover. In my book, that's no way to plan.



This why Hall is so popular, because they put in the time and effort to keep their employees employed with their company.


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## wtferick (Sep 13, 2015)

NPO said:


> My only problem with Care, (and most OC/LA companies) is if you ever want to be a Paramedic you'll have to get a new job. And those companies know that, and they plan for turnover. In my book, that's no way to plan.


That is why I am hoping to get a job at EAS then hid over to medic school. Just don't have the finances to move out at the moment.


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## NPO (Sep 13, 2015)

CALEMT said:


> This why Hall is so popular, because they put in the time and effort to keep their employees employed with their company.


As a Hall sponsored paramedic student, I know.  

But even for people who don't get sponsored, places like AMR at least let you move up. No chance at Care. I don't like jumping around job to job.


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## CALEMT (Sep 13, 2015)

Thats right I forgot you work there haha. Yeah AMR ain't great but it ain't bad. No where near the pay of a fire dept. not even close to the forest service but you can move up and you do get raises with x many years of service. Is it a career place? Can be, some people do that but its not my goals. I eventually want to work for a FD. Hall is a career company from what I've heard.


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## wtferick (Sep 13, 2015)

Yeah my plan is to work at hall and hopefully end on the medevac team. One can dream


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## deadhead (Sep 17, 2015)

NPO said:


> Do they do anything cool? I always thought they were a small shady company. I've only ever seen them at crappy SNFs


Look us up on the Web. We've been around for almost 37 years.  Pretty hard for a "small shady company" to stay in business that long.  Just consider we have more experience providing services in organized EMS systems than any other family-owned and operate provider in OC, and we have been providing 911 service the entire time. EAS is an organization that keeps its commitments, is responsive, fair to employees, clinically excellent, stable, aand with a proven track record.  There's nothing shady about that.


NPO said:


> Do they do anything cool? I always thought they were a small shady company. I've only ever seen them at crappy SNFs


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## deadhead (Sep 17, 2015)

wtferick said:


> Finally turn 21 and really interested to join the company since I was 19. Any tips guys? Other than applying lol anything this company specifically looks for?


Thank you for your interest in our company.  We have EMT positions posted and would be interested in accepting your application.  I'd suggest you go to our website and review the EMT requirements listed under the career tab.  Basically, we are seeking personable, detail oriented EMTs with exceptional people and customer service skills.  We train our employees so no prior 911 experience is needed.  However, we do have requirements for our dedicated fire units so there are no direct hires to those positions.


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## CALEMT (Sep 17, 2015)

deadhead said:


> and we have been providing 911 service the entire time.





deadhead said:


> However, we do have requirements for our dedicated fire units so there are no direct hires to those positions.



Not trying to bash your company, but I don't know much of OC. I thought Care had 911 on lock down in OC, please excuse my ignorance. 

Also when you speak of dedicated fire units, do you mean your company ambulance thats quartered in a active fire station that responds with the engine? For example: Engine 1 and EAS medic 1. Or do you mean that you have an "ambulance station" thats an old fire station that the city no longer uses.


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## deadhead (Sep 17, 2015)

CALEMT thanks!  There is a general misconception that Care has locked down this County.  They're big and powerful, and frankly - a good company. But there are still independent providers out there. We're still kicking having retained Region A and we have been Brea's provider for 36 years, operating under Sect. 224 "grandfather" provisions. Doctor's is still the provider for Laguna Beach and Shoreline has the staffing contract for Westminster, so Care isn't the only game in town. Re stations - We don't co-locate with fire crews in our area, dissimilar to Care who is in-house in Anaheim, Fullerton and a couple of other areas I believe.  Reason is that the idea has not been particularly well received by the FFs at our area agencies. And, we don't see any reason to rock the boat. If they wanted us in-house we'd be there. At our company a dedicated unit is one solely assigned to 911 response - no IFTs. That said, all of our crews are given the opportunity to respond to 911 calls.


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## CALEMT (Sep 17, 2015)

Thanks for clearing that up. While I'm not going to touch LACo or OC with a 10 foot pole (I'm happy in REMS) I know theres probably someone "lurking" on this thread that will sooner or later ask those questions.


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## wtferick (Sep 17, 2015)

deadhead said:


> Thank you for your interest in our company.  We have EMT positions posted and would be interested in accepting your application.  I'd suggest you go to our website and review the EMT requirements listed under the career tab.  Basically, we are seeking personable, detail oriented EMTs with exceptional people and customer service skills.  We train our employees so no prior 911 experience is needed.  However, we do have requirements for our dedicated fire units so there are no direct hires to those positions.


Thank you very much. Plan on applying as soon as I renew my EMT.


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## Jim37F (Dec 10, 2015)

@wtferick Any updates about working for EAS? With my apps at others closer to home not going anywhere at the moment I'm starting to look into OC (I'm not in a position myself to move up to Bakersfield yet myself, even Laguna Beach for Doctors is a bit far). Whats the pay like? How many IFT vs Fire units do they have, and how hard is it for a new employee to get onto a Fire unit? (I.e. Care says new EMTs can expect to be on an IFT unit for 3-6 months before getting enough seniority for a Fire shift) and for the non dedicated Fire units, whats the ratio of IFT to 911 calls? What are the shift lengths (2x24hrs, 4x10hrs, 3/4x12?) Paid all 24 hours (I know there's some companies out there that exploit loopholes so they only pay for 16 out of 24 hours) Relationship with Brea FD and OCFA? Is it automatic code 2 responses while fire goes code 3 and then only wants you to push the gurney? Prospects for part time to go to medic school in the future? Overtime availability? I'm sure I can think of a few more


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## deadhead (Dec 10, 2015)

What's the pay like? *PRESENTLY - $9.00 FOR 24'S AND $10.50 FOR OTHER SHIFTS. MIN. WAGE GOS UP ON JANUARY 1 TO $10.00.*

How many IFT vs Fire units do they have, and how hard is it for a new employee to get onto a Fire unit? *15 TOTAL UNITS WITH 4 DEDICATED FIRE DEPT. UNITS AND 1 BACKUP, REMAINDER WORK 9'S OR 12'S, BUT ALL EMT'S HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND WITH FIRE. HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET ON A FIRE SHIFT DEPENDS ON TURNOVER (NORMALLY LOWER AT EAS), QUALFICATIONS, WHAT'S OPEN, ETC...  THE WAIT CAN BE AS SHORT AS 6 MONTHS BUT AS LONG AS 16.
*
What's the ratio of IFT to 911 calls? *DEPENDS WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ON A DEDICATED UNIT.  A FIRE SHIFT IS 100% 9-1-1.  A SHORT HOUR UNIT CAN VARY.  WORST CASE SCENARIO IS 10% FIRE CALLS.*

What are the shift lengths (2x24hrs, 4x10hrs, 3/4x12?) *SHIFT LENGTHS VARY WITH THE DEPLOYMENT SYSTEM. 24'S WORK 3 DAYS PER WEEK. THERE IS A MIXED SHIFT THAT WORKS 2 24'S AND 2 9'S, THERE ARE NO 10 HR. SHIFTS.  12 HR SHIFTS WORK SET DAYS, 3 ONE WEEK AND 4 THE NEXT - EG. M, W, F AND EVERY OTHER SUN. OR JUST 3 SET DAYS PER WEEK.  MOST 9 HR. SHIFTS WORK 5 DAYS*

Paid all 24 hours (I know there's some companies out there that exploit loopholes so they only pay for 16 out of 24 hours) -* IWC WAGE ORDER 9 ALLOWS COMPANIES TO PAY AS LITTLE AS 13 OF 24.  EAS PAYS 21 OF 24.  IF YOU ARE AWOKEN DURING THE DESIGNATED 3 HOUR SLEEP PERIOD YOU ARE COMPENSATED FOR THOSE HOURS.  EMPLOYEES AVERAGE 22 OF 24 HOURS.*

Relationship with Brea FD and OCFA? *WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH BREA FD FOR 38 YEARS AND OCFA FOR 28.  I THINK ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DRAW THE CONCLUSION THAT THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE PRETTY GOOD.*

Is it automatic code 2 responses while fire goes code 3 and then only wants you to push the gurney? *NO, IT'S NOT AUTOMATIC.  BREA/METRONET USES CLAUSEN DISPATCH CARDS AND OCFA USES THE KING COUNTY SYSTEM.  YES, THE MAJORITY OF CALLS START OUT AS CODE 2 - BUT A PERCENTAGE - LARGER WITH METRONET START OUT CODE 3.  ALSO, AFTER CODE 2 DISPATCH THE CALLS ARE FREQUENTLY UPGRADED BY THE ENGINE CO.*

Prospects for part time to go to medic school in the future? *YES.  HOWEVER, JUST TO BE UP FRONT, WE DO NOT WRITE LETTERS OF VERIFICATION FOR EMTS WHO HAVE BEEN WITH THE COMPANY FOR LESS THAN 12 MONTHS FULL TIME.  AFTER 12 MONTHS WE WILL ALLOW TRANSITION TO PART TIME IF THE EMPLOYEE CAN WORK THE REQUIRED 8 HOURS PER WEEK.*

Overtime availability? *PRESENTLY, PLENTY - HOWEVER, WE TRY TO LIMIT UNSCHEDULED OT, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER COMPANY - SO THERE IS NO ONGOING GUARANTEE OF OT.*


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## Jim37F (Dec 10, 2015)

Thanks for all the good info @deadhead !


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## CALEMT (Dec 10, 2015)

deadhead said:


> Paid all 24 hours (I know there's some companies out there that exploit loopholes so they only pay for 16 out of 24 hours) -* IWC WAGE ORDER 9 ALLOWS COMPANIES TO PAY AS LITTLE AS 13 OF 24. EAS PAYS 21 OF 24. IF YOU ARE AWOKEN DURING THE DESIGNATED 3 HOUR SLEEP PERIOD YOU ARE COMPENSATED FOR THOSE HOURS. EMPLOYEES AVERAGE 22 OF 24 HOURS.*



Cal Fire used to do this way back in the day where between the hours of like 10-5 or something like that you would need to be woken up for a call to get the whole 24 hours pay. Dumbest thing ever in my opinion, if I'm there because I have to be then you better pay me. 

My old IFT company also used to do this, biggest crock of s*** ever. Again I mimic, when you expect me to be at work technically on duty (even when I'm sleeping) then you better pay me for it. Simple as that. Otherwise if you don't pay me, then I'm going home. 

No offense to you or your company, but not paying for the full 24 is a pet peeve of mine.


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## wtferick (Dec 12, 2015)

Jim37F said:


> @wtferick Any updates about working for EAS? With my apps at others closer to home not going anywhere at the moment I'm starting to look into OC (I'm not in a position myself to move up to Bakersfield yet myself, even Laguna Beach for Doctors is a bit far). Whats the pay like? How many IFT vs Fire units do they have, and how hard is it for a new employee to get onto a Fire unit? (I.e. Care says new EMTs can expect to be on an IFT unit for 3-6 months before getting enough seniority for a Fire shift) and for the non dedicated Fire units, whats the ratio of IFT to 911 calls? What are the shift lengths (2x24hrs, 4x10hrs, 3/4x12?) Paid all 24 hours (I know there's some companies out there that exploit loopholes so they only pay for 16 out of 24 hours) Relationship with Brea FD and OCFA? Is it automatic code 2 responses while fire goes code 3 and then only wants you to push the gurney? Prospects for part time to go to medic school in the future? Overtime availability? I'm sure I can think of a few more


Mr.Deadhead summed it up very well. As for me, I never dropped the application. The company I work for serves Westminster/midway city and many metro net calls. I love this company to be honest. If I ever have to leave is once I go to medic school.

Overtime is very much available. Only Mods will be able to respond into Westminster/midway city and vans/mods can respond into metro net areas. And yes full paid 24hr shifts.


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