Charleston’s ambulance service has blossomed.

At the Charleston City Council’s Fall Retreat, Fire Chief Kris Phipps announced the city receives a projected $2 million in revenue from the ambulance service. With the department budgeted at $2.7 million for the year, the amount paid by taxpayers comes out to approximately $28.30 per person.

“It is significantly less than towns with about the same size that do not have an ambulance service,” said Assistant Fire Chief Pat Goodwin. “Carbondale’s people pay about $125 per person because they don’t have the service.”

However, Charleston has taken more than 20 years to incorporate the program fully into the fire department. In 1974, the single private ambulance service left town, leaving an ambulance to the city. The department had not had any emergency medical service training prior to the drop.

“It was a necessity, literally,” Mayor John Inyart said. “We didn’t have the private ambulance service, and we had to pick up the ball and run with it because we didn’t have the protection anymore.”

Since the incorporation of ambulances into the fire department, the entire staff has become EMS-certified with advanced life support services. The ambulances’ coverage has grown to include an approximate 200 square mile area in Coles County.

The ambulances respond to almost 3,000 calls annually and transport more than 2,000 patients, primarily to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center six miles west of Charleston.

Approximately 87 percent of calls are EMS calls, leaving less than one in five calls to fire related emergencies. Transports to outside hospitals in Champaign, St. Louis and Springfield are also provided by the ambulance services.

“The ambulances make a very positive impression,” Inyart said. “They are a tremendous asset to the city and its response area.”

The ambulance service also provides ride-along training for other local departments without vehicles that want their EMT trainees to get hands-on experience. Currently, the Charleston Fire Department is working with Ashmore’s facility to give hands-on training to their EMT hopefuls.

Goodwin said area fire departments have recently been calling for information on how to incorporate ambulance services into their departments.

“Most departments that do not have ambulance services are facing staffing cutbacks and money loss,” he said. “It’s the change of the times. We are an ambulance service that puts out a fire now and then.”

He added the move to ambulance services provided by fire stations is more than just a call issue.

“Private and volunteer facilities are losing staff because of the low pay and burn out of the volunteers,” he said. “Qualifications and financial security make it hard to hire outside of city departments.”

Paramedic training takes approximately 18 months of schooling, a time requirement many volunteer EMTs cannot afford. Goodwin said this puts the CFD ahead of many of the state’s facilities.

In addition to training, the four vehicles in the department are equipped with advanced life support – the highest level of aid in ambulance service. Each one can sustain high trauma victims until hospital arrival.

Two vehicles are regularly staffed and used throughout the day, while the two other remain on standby.

Goodwin said, in more recent years, three vehicles are being deployed more frequently. He added it would be nice to have a fifth vehicle; however, the department does not currently have the staffing.

“We can have the two other staffed in a matter of minutes,” Inyart said. “There is no immediate need for growth because we rarely utilize all four vehicles at the same time.”

After the budgeted replacement of the fourth vehicle, the city would focus on plans for repairs, extensions or a new fire facility to service the northern edge of town.

Funds from the ambulance services can be allocated to pay for such future renovations.

“We are really proud of not only our department’s training and services, but the tremendous value they provide to the taxpayers,” Inyart said.

Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].