Advanced Life Support First Responders
The Pinellas County EMS Authority contracts with 19 local, municipal and special district fire departments for First Responder EMS services. Since we are a one-tier, all Advanced Life Support (ALS) or paramedic system, our contracts require paramedic fire department First Responder units to go on every 9-1-1 medical emergency call.
The Authority also provides funding for other special rescue services within the County which are provided by several First Responders. These services include Countywide Technical Rescue Team, Countywide Hazmat Response Team and a specialized Basic Life Support Maritime Search and Rescue Agreement with the Eckerd College Search and Rescue volunteer group.
The contracts the Pinellas County EMS Authority enters into are performance-based. That means there are specific performance requirements that must be met by contractors. In addition, the Authority offers incentives for exceptional performance and penalties for failing to meet contractual requirements in certain key areas in all of the agreements.
The performance requirements and incentives for all ALS First Responders include the following: arrive on scene to all medical emergency 9-1-1 calls in seven minutes and 30 seconds in each fire district with 90% reliability; an incentive for handling 90% of calls within their first due area with the first due unit; and an incentive for providing EMS Public Education, including CPR training to 2% of the year-round population in the fire district on an annual basis.
Additionally, advising "at patient" over the radio, 90% of the time is an incentive. Reducing the time interval of “at patient” to “first chest compression” has increased the survivability of cardiac arrest patients in our county.
Last year our EMS First Responders were dispatched to 119,000 medical emergency calls throughout the County. Whereas the EMS Authority funds the ambulance service through the collection of user fees (if you are transported, then the Authority sends a bill), the First Responders are funded through the collection of Countywide EMS millage.
Pinellas County has an extraordinary wealth of EMS resources. We respond 74 ALS fire rescue units from 60 stations, plus another 68 paramedic ambulances through the Sunstar contractor. Our fire rescue agencies are on scene first in the majority of calls with an average of four minutes and 23 second response time measured from the time the 9-1-1 call is answered. Our paramedic ambulances enjoy a six minute and 23 second Countywide average response time.
Please visit our Links page for more information on ALS 1st Responder Agencies.
