Oh good, I'm glad that wasn't what you meant. I'm sure you can see how an unscrupulous person would take what you said to mean that though...First, in my situation down here all medical calls are run by the fire department, We run a priority dispatch system. The majority of our Fire houses are staffed with a ALS suppression apparatus and an ALS Transport Rescue (ambulance)If a less critical priority medical call is dispatched, the engine rolls. If a high priority call is dispatched, the Rescue rolls. If the rescue is out, the ALS suppression is first up.
And I didn't say I enjoy medical calls until something more fun comes along, This system is far from perfect and does need tweeking.
If you don't mind, would you mind answering the questions I asked? Specifically, why having a paramedic on an engine is appropriate; and not anecdotal examples if you can, but real reasons why having a paramedic on an engine would be beneficial. And, how often is your department actually cancelling the paramedic unit, plus how long are they arriving before the ambulance? As well as, if the people on the engine want to be elsewhere, and in fact should be elsewhere, wouldn't the public be better served by not using that unit in a way it was not meant for?