Does your rig match the FD?

[Code 3]

This question is for those of you that work for a private ambulance service. Does your company have the rigs painted to match the fire department, or do you have your own color scheme? There are two ALS providers in my county and one of them has their rigs match the fire departments, while the other one doesn't. In fact, they only retain a small logo on the back door to identify the company. Most people in my county just assume the ambulance is part of the fire department and are unaware that it's actually a partnership between the city and a private company.

Which look to you prefer and why? For example, do you believe it's more professional to look unified, or do you think it's a hassle when your company cannot be identified as something separate from the fire department?

 

[JPINFV]

Why would you want a rig to look like an entity other than your own? It's like asking why the fire department's color scheme doesn't match the police department's color scheme.

 

[Code 3]

Why would you want a rig to look like an entity other than your own? It's like asking why the fire department's color scheme doesn't match the police department's color scheme.

I have no idea, as I don't work for the company. The only thing I'm asking is if this is seen elsewhere, and if so, what are your thoughts on it.

 

[Ridryder911]

No and I would NEVER want it to. Sorry, but I am a health care professional not a public servant.

Thank GOD we no longer wear patches either!

R/r 911

 

[JB42]

No and I would NEVER want it to. Sorry, but I am a health care professional not a public servant.

Agree completely. I am very happy with driving my WHITE and blue ambulance. In no way do I want it to be red, yellow, or yellow-green. I am not a firefighter.

Thank GOD we no longer wear patches either!

Care to elaborate? Is this just no company patches or no certification patches as well?

 

[Sasha]

Here in Florida, it's a requirement to atleast be an EMT-B to be a fire fighter, and all most all fire services run ALS. Private ambulance services are quickly dying. So a lot of the rescues/ambulances ARE part of the fire department.

But the private services here don't make an effort to blend in.

I don't have an opinion on it one way or antoher, I just don't get everyone's disdain for firefighters.

Especially considering the fact out fearless leader is, in fact, a fire fighter.

 

[reaper]

I don't think a lot of people here have a disdain for Firefighters. Most have a disdain for the FD having any control of EMS!

I highly respect FF's for the job they do. Most FF's I know highly respect EMS for the job we do. They are separate professions and should not be together.


As far as the OP's question on the private ambulances being painted to look like the FD's rigs. They may have a contract with the FD to provide 911 service and the FD wants people to think they are their trucks?

 

[johnrsemt]

Where I work now; we are seperate and not painted anything like the fire department; (although the fire dept is not painted the same as each other either {different paint schemes on different trucks in same department}).
my old private service was unique to themselves.
my old fire department EMS side was similar but 3 of the new ambulances were different than the older ambulances, and they were all different than the backup ambulances. seemed like every new ambulance group was painted differently.

 

[Sasha]

I don't think a lot of people here have a disdain for Firefighters. Most have a disdain for the FD having any control of EMS!

I highly respect FF's for the job they do. Most FF's I know highly respect EMS for the job we do. They are separate professions and should not be together.


As far as the OP's question on the private ambulances being painted to look like the FD's rigs. They may have a contract with the FD to provide 911 service and the FD wants people to think they are their trucks?

Well stay out of Florida. Fire fighters ARE EMS in most of the state.

 

[reaper]

Sasha,

I worked FL for 18 years. I never worked for a FD. If you come North of Gainesville almost all EMS is third service County services, except for Jax which is still two separate services. They are both under the FD, but ran separate.

In your neck of the state, you have Lake-Sumter, which is a good service. No FD involvement there. It is your choice with what type of service you work for. Don't be pressured to work for the FD, because someone tells you that is all there is in FL.

 

[Sasha]

Sasha,

I worked FL for 18 years. I never worked for a FD. If you come North of Gainesville almost all EMS is third service County services, except for Jax which is still two separate services. They are both under the FD, but ran separate.

In your neck of the state, you have Lake-Sumter, which is a good service. No FD involvement there. It is your choice with what type of service you work for. Don't be pressured to work for the FD, because someone tells you that is all there is in FL.

Lake County and up around there are the exceptions. Osceola county is all FD, Orlando is half FD, Orange County used to be Metro, but they're lost that contract, all they have is half of Orlando, and there's talk about them losing that too. The other half is covered by a hospital based Health Central service. Because OCFD made the jump into transporting, Orlando Fire is thinking about doing that too. Volusia is covered by VCFD and EVAC, but again, there is talk about them losing THAT contract. At Lake County, which involves Lake Sumter, and I have a very good friend who works for Lake County FD, the firefighters STILL respond to EMS calls, and are usually there first. Polk County EMS? Yes, exception, but again Polk County FD STILL responds to the emergencies, they just don't transport.

In most of the state, even if they don't transport, Fire is STILL EMS, they still respond, and they still are ALS. Private services are slowly shrivelling up and dying. Pretty soon the entire state with be fire.

 

[reaper]

Never stated that Fire did no respond. All FD in the state respond to medical calls. They have to have something to do!

There is slow changes taking place and they are in the other direction. Most just don't notice it, because EMS doesn't toot it's horn that often!

 

[Sasha]

Never stated that Fire did no respond. All FD in the state respond to medical calls. They have to have something to do!

There is slow changes taking place and they are in the other direction. Most just don't notice it, because EMS doesn't toot it's horn that often!

Actually considering most of our ambulance services are losing it's contracts to FD, it IS moving in the fire direction.

Firefighters go through the same EMT and MEdic training we do. This whole superiority complex that non-fire medics and EMTs get that give non fire services a bad name.

 

[reaper]

Ok. If you say so!

 

[Dominion]

Actually considering most of our ambulance services are losing it's contracts to FD, it IS moving in the fire direction.

Firefighters go through the same EMT and MEdic training we do. This whole superiority complex that non-fire medics and EMTs get that give non fire services a bad name.

Which is a shame, not from the aspect that I feel there is a superiority over fire/ems, but more that I do not want to be a firefighter. I don't know how it works in Florida or in other areas but the services here that are Fire/EMS the EMS employees MUST be firefighters also. This is only one of the issues I have with Fire and EMS being together. If I wanted to be a firefighter I wouldn't have joined EMS, I have absolutely zero desire to be one and to be forced into that roll if I decided to move into an area where the primary 911 service was fire is a shame.

Additionally like others have said they are two separate fields in my opinion. In my area it's become the point where fire no longer responds to medicals unless requested (lift assist, assisted entry, fire issues, trauma, etc). The only exceptions are a couple of the private fire services (such as the fire/ems service that is funded not wholly by but in part by John Schnatter the founder of Papa Johns who lives in the sub area they operate in).

 

[Code 3]

As far as the OP's question on the private ambulances being painted to look like the FD's rigs. They may have a contract with the FD to provide 911 service and the FD wants people to think they are their trucks?

They created a LLC to form a public/private partnership between the city and the ambulance company. I guess somewhere in there they decided to customize the rigs to match FD. They provide both BLS and ALS services to the county as well. They are stationed with FD and do everything together; however, they are not city employees. Maybe this is something very unique as I haven't seen anyone else post a similar setup.

 

[reaper]

I have seen a simular setup before. But, they did not paint the trucks to match.

 

[JSL22]

In NJ, I've never seen the private companies try to match the FD's, mainly because the private companies cover more areas then an individual FD would. The ones that do match are the ones that are actually part of the FD. Most don't even consider themselves to be a squad, they are fire-fighter EMTs and wear their turnout pants and boots on all squad calls. It seems ridiculous to me and makes me glad I work out of a hospital...

 

[daimere]

Fire is STILL EMS, they still respond, and they still are ALS. Private services are slowly shrivelling up and dying. Pretty soon the entire state with be fire.

The town I live beside has ALS trucks for fire. Now, most these firefighters don't properly immobilize patients in severe car wrecks and there is a good portion that would refuse to get onto an ambulance. Most of my EMT-B class was guys wanting to be firefighters. You could tell the type of people who wanted to be in EMS for EMS and who wanted to be a firefighter. The two highest grades were the two or three that just wanted to be in EMS. The lowest grades were all the firefighter wanna-be's. One guy stated, "I never want to be on an ambulance. I just want to be a firefighter."

 

[JJR512]

I have worked for two companies driving Type IIs ("vanbulances") and one company driving box-type units (not sure if they were technically I or III, I always get them mixed up). Here are my thoughts.

In a Type II, I have noticed that the vast majority of other drivers seem to have very little or no respect for me. In other words, to them I'm just another vehicle in their way which they have the right to cut off, pull out in front of, and drive stupidly around just like they would with almost any other vehicle.

The company I worked for that used only box units just bought used ambulances from whatever municipal FD was selling them for cheap, and to further reduce the cost, this company didn't repaint them. I believe the selling agency removed all decals identifying the ambulance as belonging to a particular county or fire department, and the company I worked for added decals identifying the company, and that was it. Consequently, almost none of their ambulances looked the same (the few that did were bought from the same department at once), but most looked like they belonged to some fire department, more or less.

When I left this company and went to work for one with Type IIs, I suddenly noticed a marked difference in the way other drivers drove around me. In other words, other drivers seemed to drive a bit more respectfully around the box units. Now this could have been because maybe people just see the body of the Type II and just think "van" and don't realize "ambulance"; maybe it has nothing to do with the paint scheme. Or maybe it does have to do with the fact that the box units looked like FD units. I just don't know.

But I suspect that the paint scheme does have something to do with it. I suspect this because I have observed the same thing happen inside hospitals. When an EMT goes up to the nurse's station in an ER and he or she is wearing a private company uniform that looks nothing like an FD uniform, he or she is virtually ignored, but when someone goes up to the station wearing an FD uniform, or one just like it in the case of one or two companies around here that have the basic navy pants/light blue shirt uniform, they do not get virtually ignored.

So, it is my theory that the uniform or the vehicle appearance does have an impact on how we are treated. Since I would prefer to be treated with a bit more respect, and I would like other drivers to drive with a bit more courtesy around me, well frankly I don't care if I have to cheat and disguise myself to resemble an FD to do it. So I voted for the "no but I'd like to" choice, so far I'm the only one.

But that's my 2¢.