“We’re just information gathering,” fire Chief Herb Redden said Monday, March 29. “Everything is on the table. It’s another example of trying to reduce our costs and direct personnel more efficiently.”
Before the concept could become policy in Dayton, Redden said he needs to study other cities, including Cleveland, to gauge how similar polices could be adapted to meet the needs here.
Redden said his command staff, City Manager Tim Riordan and the City Commission would have to be on board before the change could become policy. Even then, the plan would not move forward until after Dayton fire dispatch moves into the countywide 911 center later this year.
“I don’t even know if the regional dispatch could accommodate this,” Redden said.
Officials with the Dayton firefighters union said they were unaware changes were being discussed, but they were willing to work with the city.
“We have residents who request our service on a regular basis, people who use the EMS system as their primary source of care,” said Brad French, union spokesman.
City crews responded to 24,445 service calls in 2009, according to Redden. People commonly list a litany of complaints when calling for a medic unit, but actually are just looking for taxi service.
“A person will say they’re sick and they want to go to a specific hospital. When we arrive at the hospital, they bail out the back of the medic. They just wanted a ride to that area,” Redden said.
“A call like that ties up a medic for 45 minutes to an hour from the time we get a call until we get them to the hospital,” he said.
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