Letter to Editor: Glaring example of current collapse of EMS system in Boardman Township
Halloween this year was our most glaring example of the current collapse of the EMS system in Boardman Township. We understand that everyone has their own challenges, and this is the culmination of many problems, but we would be failing the public if we did not bring the current situation to light.
Boardman Fire crews began the day without the ability to staff our own Medic 71 due to low staffing. Our maximum daily staffing for the department is 12 personnel. With those personnel we can provide the following staffing:
Command 71: 1 Assistant Chief
Engine 71: 1 Captain and 2 Firefighters
Engine 73: 3 Firefighters
Ladder 74: 3 Firefighters
Medic 71: 2 Firefighters
Even with full staff, we are below the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 1710 standard of 4 firefighters per Engine and 5 firefighters per Ladder. We staff Medic 71 if personnel for the day are at or above 11. If we drop below that 11-personnel mark, Medic 71 comes out of service as it did on Halloween. Medic 71 is the first unit out of service because of the dire need to continue to provide fire and rescue services for Boardman Township. Boardman Township has a contractual agreement with Lane Lifetrans to provide EMS services.
In addition to Medic 71 being out of service, we were called by Lane Lifetrans who advised they were short on ambulances for the day. Through discussions, it was determined that they would have five ambulances during the morning for their coverage area (two of which are stationed in Boardman). In the early afternoon, that number would drop to three ambulances (one remaining in Boardman).
Our morning started normally with truck checks and station duties. Our first call for service was at 10:15 AM for a Carbon Monoxide check. This was followed by 3 Medical Emergencies between 10:17 AM and 12:30 PM which were all handled by Lanes. We began having issues with availability after these incidents.
Engine 71 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 1:07 PM which required mutual aid from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District. They were able to provide transport capabilities at the Basic EMT level. Unfortunately, this call for service was ALS (Advanced Life Support) which required one of the Boardman Fire Medics to transport with our mutual aid company, lowering truck staffing until they returned from the hospital.
Ladder 74 was dispatched to a Lift Assist at 1:27 PM, which is typically handled by Lanes, but they were not available. This call for service required equipment which we do not carry on our firetrucks due to limited space. The equipment needed is on our Medic, which was not in service. Engine 71 responded back to their station to get the proper equipment then responded with Ladder 74 to assist them.
Ladder 74 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 2:03 PM which Lanes needed EMT ambulance to cover.
Engine 73 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 5:04 PM which Lanes covered with a delayed response with a unit from Weathersfield.
Engine 71 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 5:15 PM which was covered with a Paramedic Mutual Aid unit from the Cardinal Joint Fire District.
Ladder 74 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 5:18 PM. This incident requires further context due to the complete and utter failure of the system. Crews were dispatched for a patient with chest pain possibly suffering from a heart attack. While Ladder 74 was enroute, dispatch advised that Lanes was unavailable and would be checking for mutual aid. The Cardinal Joint Fire District was unable to send an additional unit to Boardman. Ladder 74 arrived on scene and began assessing the patient. While on scene, dispatch updated crews that Beaver Township Fire and Green Township Fire were both unable to respond as well and they would now be checking with the Western Reserve Joint Fire District for mutual aid. They advised they would be able to send a Basic EMT unit for transport. It was at this time that the patient and family elected to transport by personal vehicle rather than waiting any longer for an ambulance.
Ladder 74, Engine 71, and Command 71 were dispatched for a Motor Vehicle Accident on I-680 with possible entrapment and a possible vehicle fire at 5:52 PM. At the time of this incident, Ladder 74 and Engine 71 were staffed with only 2 firefighters. While enroute, Command 71 requested at least 3 ambulances to the scene due to information provided by callers. Lanes provided 1 ambulance, and 2 mutual aid ambulances were needed from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District (1 Paramedic Unit and 1 Basic EMT Unit). Unfortunately, this accident had a fatality and an additional injury.
Engine 73 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 6:35 PM which was covered by Mutual Aid from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District.
Engine 73 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 10:51 PM which Lanes was initially unavailable for. Mutual Aid was requested but also unavailable. Lanes responded with an extended wait time on scene from our crews.
Ladder 74 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 11:00 PM which needed a mutual aid response from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District. They provided an EMT Basic unit, but due to this being an Advanced Life Support call, a Boardman Fire Paramedic was sent with their unit for transport, dropping the staffing on the truck until they returned.
Engine 71 was dispatched to a Medical Emergency at 11:15 PM and began responding. While enroute, an additional Medical Emergency was dispatched that needed an Advanced Life Support response. Engine 71 was the only truck remaining in Boardman that had Paramedics on board. Engine 71 diverted to the second call and Engine 73 was sent to the first call for service. Springfield Township Fire was needed for mutual aid to provide transport for this patient.
Engine 71 and Ladder 74 responded to a Medical Emergency at 11:17 PM. Beaver Township Fire responded with mutual aid for transport. They had an Advanced EMT level unit which is ALS, but due to the call being cardiac related, Boardman Paramedics were unable to downgrade care and rode with Beaver Township for transport. This call dropped another trucks staffing. At the time that units cleared this call, Ladder 74 and Engine 71 were both reduced to 2-man apparatus.
At the time of writing this, we are having similar issues with coverage a day later. It is safe to say that Halloween was an outlier, but it is becoming increasingly more common. Boardman Fire is attempting to prop up a broken system and in doing so we are crippling our Fire and Rescue coverage. It was said during the levy that we need to do more with less by some of those against it. We are trying to do more with the same and it’s not working. The EMS Levy last year was not done as a scare tactic; it was done to prevent what is currently happening. Our system is crumbling and there is no easy fix at this point. We are fortunate that our mutual aid partners were able to send units and did not have incidents of their own to handle. We are fortunate that we did not have additional calls for service while we were understaffed and committed to other calls for service.
We hope that in the future we will be able to secure some type of funding to bolster our staff and service. In the future, we hope that our message will be received well and the opponents who fought against it see that it was not false information or scare tactics. It was a message of providing the proper service to our community.