Ambulance Service Soon To Mobilize From Hugo
Firefighters To Use new Ambulance Purchased by WbL
HUGO - With the help of a brand new ambulance parked at the Hugo Fire Department, in coming weeks Hugo's firefighters will begin to mobilize ambulance transport service for the city during the evening and night hours.
"I see this as a very critical move for us," said Mayor Fran Miron during discussion of the issue at the Dec. 17 city council meeting.
Council later approved a Cooperative Agreement with the city of White Bear Lake in a move that formally approved the change. The Hugo Fire Department currently responds to all 911 calls within Hugo with the city's rescue truck, but ambulance service, both Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS), is provided by the White Bear Lake Fire Department.
White Bear Lake Ambulance has been providing service to the city of Hugo and Oneka Township since before 1960.
Hugo's fire department will use the new ambulance - purchased by the city of White Bear Lake - to respond to medical calls made within Hugo between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., and firefighters will also transport sick or injured people to the hospital.
BLS calls include calls made for relatively minor medical problems and injuries, such as flu-like symptoms, weakness, and broken bones.Calls for more severe medical problems and injuries will be initially responded to by the Hugo Fire Department, but a paramedic from White Bear Lake will also be summoned to the scene in such situations.
Between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m., ambulance services will continue to be provided by White Bear Lake.
Fire Chief Jim Compton said that Hugo's Fire Department is ready to take on the additional responsibilities that the switch entails.
"Everyone that joins our department, it's a requirement that they are trained as an EMT," Compton said, adding that Hugo's firefighters are as well-trained as the firefighters from White Bear Lake who have been providing ambulance services for Hugo residents in recent years.
"We feel that we're ready at this point in time to take this venture on," Compton told the council on Dec. 17, adding that this month marks the first time the HFD has reached a complementof 30 firefighters since the mid1980s, with a maximum allowable of 33.
Compton said that the switch will be a "win-win situation" for Hugo and White Bear Lake. From Hugo's perspective, the change makes it possible for an ambulance to arrive at the site of an injury or medical emergency more quickly, while from White Bear Lake's perspective the change reduces stress on their fire department while also providing the city with access to an additional ambulance if needed.
"If White Bear Lake needs a fourth ambulance, we will respond if it's on the north end," Compton said.
The change will also save the city of Hugo some cash, as teams of five or six firefighters will take turns being on-call as ambulance service providers each night. Currently, if there is a call for a medical emergency, all members of the HFD are paged, so the change will save the city in staff-time reimbursement.
That said, Compton noted that the officer in charge can page additional firefighters if the situation calls for that.
As the owner of the ambulance, White Bear Lake will be responsible for re-supplying the vehicle and for billing insurance companies for ambulance service.