(a) Establishment. There is hereby established an emergency ambulance service system within the Fire Department.
(1) The Fire Chief, or his or her designee, shall determine under the particular circumstances of each case whether or not emergency ambulance service shall be provided outside the corporate limits of the City.
(2) The individual provided with emergency ambulance service shall be transported to Robinson Memorial Hospital. An alternative facility may be determined by the Fire Chief, or his or her designee, due to unusual circumstances.
(b) Equipment. Each ambulance shall be equipped with the minimal equipment as stated by the American College of Surgeons, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) One extra set of clean linen;
(2) One crash pouch;
(3) Two basket-type leg splints;
(4) Two basket-type arm splints;
(5) Mechanical means of resuscitation and a tank of oxygen with a reduction gauge;
(6) Mechanical means of aspiration or suction with a set of catheters for adults and children;
(7) A back board for use in cardiac resuscitation;
(8) A full-length back board for back injuries;
(9) Two pneumatic arm splints and two pneumatic leg splints;
(10) Oropharyngeal airways in adult, child and infant sizes;
(11) Maternity kits, including umbilical tape or clamps, baby blankets, scissors and a bulb syringe;
(12) Two pairs of sterile rubber gloves;
(13) Tongue depressors;
(14) Ammonia;
(15) Three tourniquets;
(16) Five triangle bandages;
(17) Sufficient bandages to take care of two or more patients;
(18) A first-aid kit containing gauze squares, tape, scissors and roller bandages;
(19) A one-hand operated bag-mask ventilation unit with adult and child size masks. Clear masks are preferable. Valves shall operate in cold weather and the unit shall be capable of use with an oxygen supply;
(20) One portable oxygen equipment with adequate tubing and semi-open valveless, transparent masks in adult, child and infant sizes. A portable unit of 300-liter capacity located near a door for ready use outside the vehicle should be equipped with a yoke, pressure gauge, flowmeter (not gravity dependent), delivery tube and oxygen mask. The unit should be capable of delivering an oxygen flow of at least ten liters per minute. An extra 300-liter capacity cylinder should be available. Oxygen masks with or without bags should be semi-opened, valveless, transparent, disposable or easy to clean and decontaminate, and in sizes for adults, children and infants;
(21) Three mouth gags, either commercial or made of three tongue blades taped together and padded;
(22) Six sterile universal dressings, approximately ten inches by thirty inches, compactly folded and packaged in convenient size;
(23) Twenty-four sterile gauze pads, minimum four inches by four inches;
(24) Twelve rolls of soft roller self-adhering type bandages, two, three, four and six inches by five yard combinations. No less than two rolls of any size;
(25) One roll of aluminum foil, eighteen inches by twenty-five feet, sterilized and wrapped, heavy plastic is not acceptable;
(26) Two rolls of plain adhesive tape, three inches wide;
(27) Two sterile burn sheets; ordinary bed sheets, wrapped, sterilized and packaged in plastic bags may be used;
(28) One hinged half-ringed lower extremity traction splint (ring nine inches in diameter, overall length of splint forty-three inches) with limb support and slings, padded ankle hitch, and traction strap;
(29) Two or more padded boards, four and one-half feet long by three inches wide, and two or more similarly padded boards, three feet long, of material comparable to four-ply wood for coaptation splint of leg or thigh;
(30) Two or more fifteen-inch by three-inch padded wooden splints for fractures of the forearm. (By local option, similar splints of cardboard, plastic, wire ladder or canvas slotted lace-on may be carried in place of the above thirty-six inch and fifteen-inch boards.);
(31) One set of uncomplicated inflatable splints consisting of two full arm and two full leg splints;
(32) A short extraction board with two nine-foot straps and long spine boards with three straps and a foot plate. One short board and one long board of the following dimensions and construction are required;
A. Minor variations in dimensions may be allowed if functional capabilities are not compromised;
B. Two straps of two-inch belting at least nine feet long and equipped with slip-through friction catches are required;
(33) Twelve triangular bandages;
(34) One poison kit. Minimum contents:
A. Syrup of Ipecac, four ounces
B. One liter of drinking water (paragraph (b)(36) hereof shall qualify)
C. Activated charcoal, one packet
D. Measuring device, one teaspoon
E. Snakebite kits in areas where this need exists;
(35) One portable blood pressure manometer, cuff and stethoscope;
(36) One-half gallon of distilled water, stored in an unbreakable container;
(37) Two 500 cc bags of sterile saline (IV fluids) for protruding abdominal wounds;
(38) Fire extinguisher - drypowder type BC - # size - mounted in the patient compartment;
(39) Flashlight (minimum 2 cell (size C)). Recommended stand-up lantern type with dry-cell battery;
(40) Spotlight or floodlight; and
(41) Litter(s), with knee and chest area restraints on each. Minimum of two. Each ambulance shall be provided with one wheeled litter seventy-six inches long and twenty-three inches wide. A second litter is required. This may be a folding or adjustable litter twenty-three inches wide, or a long spine board eighteen inches by seventy-two inches.
(c) Reports.
(1) The Fire Chief shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, a log book which shall contain the following:
A. The time the call was received;
B. The time the emergency ambulance was dispatched;
C. The arrival time at the scene;
D. The nature of the call;
E. The arrival time at the hospital;
F. The name of the hospital;
G. The time the call was completed;
H. The name and address of the person transported; and
I. The names of the driver and the attendant.
(2) The Fire Chief shall, at the completion of each emergency ambulance run, have completed, in detail by the EMT, a report of the situation for delivery to the Finance Director the following morning for purposes of billing the patient or and/or the parents or guardian in the case of minors.
(3) The Fire Chief shall submit to Council and the Mayor a monthly report of all activity as it shall pertain to the emergency ambulance service. The first report shall be due September 1, 1980.
(Ord. 1980-89. Passed 7-28-80.)
(d) Charges. Charges for emergency ambulance service shall be made as follows:
Type of Trip | Charge |
(1) All other services, as follows: | |
A. Basic life support
| 650.00
|
B. Advanced life support 1
| 750.00
|
C. Advanced life support 2
| 825.00
|
D. Non-transport | 75.00 |
(2) Mileage (per mile)
| 12.00
|
(3) Exam, vitals, patient history, no transport/ treatment (refused by patient or proper authority) | 50.00 |
(4) Any services rendered to a covered employee and/or dependent of the City shall not be billed to said employee.
(5) The Finance Director is hereby authorized to set up payment plans with persons unable to pay their full bill at one time. The minimum payment to be accepted is twenty dollars ($20.00) per month. The exact make up and terms of such payment plans is left to the discretion of the Finance Director.
(Ord. 1998-054. Passed 2-2-98; Ord. 2002-068. Passed 5-6-02; Ord. 2007- 166. Passed 1-7-08; Ord. 2013-114. Passed 9-3-13; Ord. 2023-003. Passed 1-3-23.)
(e) Liability Insurance. The Finance Director shall obtain liability insurance with the insurance company presently providing coverage for the City, providing:
(1) Coverage for injury to or death of an individual in accidents resulting from any cause for which the driver or attendants of such emergency ambulance would be liable on account of liability imposed on him or her by law.
(2) Against damage to the property of another, including personal property under like circumstances in such sums and under such terms as may be required by statute.
(Ord. 1980-89. Passed 7-28-80.)