# Falck EMS Aurora Colorado



## firemedic0227 (Nov 9, 2016)

Anyone here familiar with this Company? I do know they run the 911 for Aurora Fire Department. I'm currently a firefighter paramedic looking to possibly move to Colorado, just wondering if working for Falck would help my chances of getting on with Aurora Fire. Are there any other private services in the Denver Metro area that run 911 EMS?


----------



## PotatoMedic (Nov 9, 2016)

Get on with Denver health.  Falck has good insurance and a nice 401k but pay sucks and Aurora fire looks down on you from what I'm told.


----------



## Summit (Nov 10, 2016)

Friend worked for them when they were R/M then got bought. Seemed happy enough.


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 10, 2016)

I agree with @FireWA1. If I was thinking of moving to the Denver metro area as a 911 paramedic I wouldn't bother with anyone else. I caught a class with a couple of Denver paramedics not too long ago, they seemed genuinely content with their service.

I'm not from Colorado, but I believe there may be one or two DG paramedics on this forum, good luck.


----------



## Handsome Robb (Nov 10, 2016)

VentMonkey said:


> I agree with @FireWA1. If I was thinking of moving to the Denver metro area as a 911 paramedic I wouldn't bother with anyone else. I caught a class with a couple of Denver paramedics not too long ago, they seemed genuinely content with their service.
> 
> I'm not from Colorado, but I believe there may be one or two DG paramedics on this forum, good luck.



@Ensihoitaja


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ensihoitaja (Nov 11, 2016)

Handsome Robb said:


> @Ensihoitaja
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the mention.

I wouldn't bother with Falck. It's a terrible system to work in. The Falck management used to be the Rural/Metro management when I worked there. I've not heard any reason to believe that they would be any better towards their employees now than they were then.

Denver Health is hiring. We've opened up a lot of new positions to keep up with population growth/call volume. I believe there's going to be an academy in January. I'm happy to answer any questions on Denver here on in PM.


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 11, 2016)

Do they pay DOE? Are they still all 10 hour cars? How does that "X" on your guys' bench seat work exactly (I find this _*amazingly efficient*_)? Finally, are there still differentials for nights/ weekends? All I got for now.


----------



## Ensihoitaja (Nov 11, 2016)

Yes, starting pay is DOE- in fact, to some extent, you do better coming in with experience than if you started right out of school.

Pretty much everything is 10-hour shifts. The one exception is our Englewood ambulances, which run 12-hour shifts out of DFD Stations 37 and 38. OT is over 40 in a week, so every Englewood shift gets you 2 hours of overtime.

Evening shift diff= $2.42/hour Night shift diff=$4.65/hour. No weekend differential.

The X is printed right onto the bench seat- "step up, and have a seat on the white X."


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 11, 2016)

Ensihoitaja said:


> The X is printed right onto the bench seat- "step up, and have a seat on the white X."


This, I frickin' love this. A few more:

Is Denver Fire an ALL BLS department? How is the overall report with them? How does the promotional ladder work?

Thanks, @Ensihoitaja, if I think of more I will ask. Also, I am sure the op will benefit from this as well.


----------



## Ensihoitaja (Nov 11, 2016)

Denver Fire is all BLS first response. We do all the ALS.

Overall rapport is very good, I have no issues with them. From what I hear from some of the older medics, it's the best it's ever been.

We have lieutenants as field command staff, at least 2 on the streets at any given time. There's also captain and chief promotional opportunities. Those are more office/admin than field work.

We have a full in-house educational department, including a paramedic school and all the EMS training for Denver Fire. There's multiple positions in education, some are on the promotional ladder, some are lateral moves.


----------



## Tigger (Nov 12, 2016)

Incidentally from what I've heard from some FF friends, I'm not sure AFD is a great place either. Pay is good, but not a lot of good things said about the culture there.


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 12, 2016)

Is a company by the name Pridemark still around? I know they were absorbed by R/M when that whole deal went down, but admittedly, I know next to nothing otherwise regarding Colorado EMS.


----------



## gonefishing (Nov 12, 2016)

VentMonkey said:


> Is a company by the name Pridemark still around? I know they were absorbed by R/M when that whole deal went down, but admittedly, I know next to nothing otherwise regarding Colorado EMS.


Most of the RM take overs never changed names to keep a good reputation seeing as RM didn't have the best management.  Ask any South West Ambulance employees.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


----------



## Tigger (Nov 12, 2016)

VentMonkey said:


> Is a company by the name Pridemark still around? I know they were absorbed by R/M when that whole deal went down, but admittedly, I know next to nothing otherwise regarding Colorado EMS.


@Ensihoitaja 

My understanding is that RM let them continue to operate as an "independent" operation but they lost several bigger contracts which sort of negated that. And now that AMR absorbed RM, there is little if anything left of Pridemark. They once had Boulder and Boulder county (AMR now), Wheat Ridge (West Metro Fire), Edgewater (West Metro Fire) and Arvada (Arvada Fire). AMR still operates a 911 ambulance in Fairmount which was once a Pridemark contract. I think a few of the Pridemark managers started a new company called Apex?


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 12, 2016)

gonefishing said:


> Ask any South West Ambulance employees.


Or any former Bowers employees??...but I digress.

Given the above post, I think I'd stick to my original Colorado option should I ever find myself out that way, but I must admit @Tigger's primary services seems fairly legit, and a bit of a hidden gem in and of itself.


----------



## captaindepth (Nov 12, 2016)

Here is the business end of one of our Denver Health ambulances. As you can see there is the " Big White X" on the bench by the side door.


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 12, 2016)

captaindepth said:


> Here is *the business end* of one of our Denver Health ambulances.


Sort of like a reverse mullet, party in the front?


----------



## Ensihoitaja (Nov 12, 2016)

Tigger said:


> @Ensihoitaja
> 
> My understanding is that RM let them continue to operate as an "independent" operation but they lost several bigger contracts which sort of negated that. And now that AMR absorbed RM, there is little if anything left of Pridemark. They once had Boulder and Boulder county (AMR now), Wheat Ridge (West Metro Fire), Edgewater (West Metro Fire) and Arvada (Arvada Fire). AMR still operates a 911 ambulance in Fairmount which was once a Pridemark contract. I think a few of the Pridemark managers started a new company called Apex?



That's right. Pridemark kept the Wheat Ridge and Fairmount contracts after Arvada Fire started running ambulances. Once Rural/Metro was bought out by AMR, AMR eliminated the Pridemark brand.

Mike Donner founded Apex and took a few old Pridemark managers with him. I see them around, but I don't know what (if any) contracts they have.


----------



## captaindepth (Nov 12, 2016)

VentMonkey said:


> Sort of like a reverse mullet, party in the front?


Definitely! I think we have the most fun out of all the companies in the area, but thats just my (biased) opinion.


----------



## Handsome Robb (Nov 13, 2016)

That's an interesting place to store a scoop stretcher.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## VentMonkey (Nov 13, 2016)

Handsome Robb said:


> That's an interesting place to store a scoop stretcher.


Good eye, I was actually going to inquire if they planned on switching to the LP-15's soon enough, however, "Mr. Eagle Eye" over here...


----------



## Jim37F (Nov 13, 2016)

I was wondering what that was! of course now that it's pointed out, it's super 9bviously a scoop 

Anyways, I take it it's fairly routine for you guys to transport someone on the bench over the gurney? (Protocol here is that even when they walk into the ambulance we still have them sit on our gurney vs bench seat) Last time I elected to walk a bench rider in vs wheeling in on the gurney, the suuuper salty charge nurse got all prissy with us, accusing us of trying to "jump the line" somehow still not quite sure how that logic made any sense, we came still be in line of ambulance arrivals without a big yellow thing blocking your hallway! especially since it was a psych pt who refused to ride in on the gurney so it was easier on everyone involved and we knew this was a fasttrack patient (frequent flyer) who sure enough you sent us down to fast track!   </unrelated rant from months ago>


----------



## captaindepth (Nov 13, 2016)

VentMonkey said:


> Good eye, I was actually going to inquire if they planned on switching to the LP-15's soon enough, however, "Mr. Eagle Eye" over here...


We actually upgraded to the LP 15 earlier this year, which is great! 



Jim37F said:


> Anyways, I take it it's fairly routine for you guys to transport someone on the bench over the gurney?


Yes, we do transport people sitting on the  "X" on a regular basis. There is an arm rest that drops down at the end of the bench as well as a lap belt. Figuring out which patients are appropriate for the "X" is probably one of the hardest things for P-students and new hire medics to get used to, that and the Detox van.


----------



## Ensihoitaja (Nov 13, 2016)

Handsome Robb said:


> That's an interesting place to store a scoop stretcher.



In the past, the scoop was our go to for spinal immobilization- scoop and a collar, then you get unscooped onto the bed at the hospital. Now, most people just get a collar, if anything. With the scoop in that spot, it's real easy for one person to grab that and put it on the pram (stretcher for you non-Coloradans).


----------



## Tigger (Nov 13, 2016)

VentMonkey said:


> Or any former Bowers employees??...but I digress.
> 
> Given the above post, I think I'd stick to my original Colorado option should I ever find myself out that way, but I must admit @Tigger's primary services seems fairly legit, and a bit of a hidden gem in and of itself.



Sneakily, we are attempting to redefine what a rural ambulance service can look like.


----------

