A. The Fire Department shall provide ambulance and rescue service in cases of emergency requiring the prehospital care and transportation of persons who are sick, injured, wounded or otherwise incapacitated or helpless at the time of the dispatch of a Fire Department vehicle.
B. The response area shall be limited to the territory within the corporate limits of the Village. Service outside said corporate limits shall be limited to: 1) circumstances governed by contract or mutual aid agreement, pursuant to this section; and 2) extreme lifesaving necessity.
C. Except when personnel or equipment is needed for continued lifesaving support, the Fire Chief shall assure that neither personnel nor equipment is unduly delayed in: 1) its dispatch to or departure from the scene, 2) transportation to and/or from the hospital, or 3) within a hospital.
D. The Fire Department shall transport persons only to one of the following hospitals:
1. Oak Park Hospital, Oak Park, Illinois.
2. Westlake Hospital, Melrose Park, Illinois.
3. West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, Illinois.
4. Loyola Hospital, Maywood, Illinois.
5. Hines Hospital, Hines, Illinois.
6. Gottlieb Hospital, Melrose Park, Illinois.
7. Madden, Maywood, Illinois.
8. Riveredge Hospital, Forest Park, Illinois.
Provided, however, that in exceptional circumstances, the Fire Chief may authorize the transportation of persons to other hospitals that have specialist physicians or special equipment and facilities not available at the above mentioned hospitals.
E. The fee for ambulance service and prehospital care provided by the River Forest Fire Department shall be the amount included in the most recent annual report submitted by the Village for the previous year to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and/or the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reflecting the actual cost incurred for transport of residents and nonresidents, without further action of the Village President and Board of Trustees. A fee of twenty-five dollars per mile will be charged for transportation to a medical facility. (Ord. 3691, 4-23-2018; amd. Ord. 3866, 7-11-2022; Ord. 3890, 4-24-2023)