SALEM — The fire department has issued a statement to clarify what services are provided by the department’s first responders.

According to the statement, the department is clarifying “the services provided by [its] ambulance team, how these services are funded, and how residents can specifically request the fire department’s ambulance,” in response to a recent increase in questions from residents.

“There’s been a lot of Facebook posts, and people calling and emailing to ask how they have the fire department transport them with our ambulance instead of EMT [Ambulance],” explained Fire Chief Scott Mason.

Currently when someone calls 911 for an ambulance in the city and does not give a specific preference for which transport service they want, the fire department’s ambulance will provide a primary response as first responders and transport services will be assigned to the private ambulance company currently specified by the city’s ambulance rotation, which is currently only EMT in accordance with city ordinance.

However, “city residents, employers, and employees have the right to choose which agency provides transport services,” and residents who want to be transported by the fire department should “inform the 911 dispatcher explicitly at the time of the call.”

“Once we get to the scene we can’t ask if you want us to transport, you need to ask for us during dispatch,” said Mason.

The release also notes that in addition to compliance with city ordinance specifying a preference for which agency provides transport services “will help avoid confusion and ensure only the necessary ambulance responds to the incident.”

“There’s been several times where people thought we would be transporting and instead its EMT’s transport, and it can be frustrating for the patient, and for the employees from EMT as well to be called out to an incident where the patient requests us to transport instead,” said Mason.

The release also clarifies how the department’s ambulance services are funded using a “soft billing” system which the department officially adopted Jan. 1 which “was deemed fair and equitable by both the Fire Department and the current administration.” Under the system “residents and taxpayers employed within the city … will only be billed for the amount [their] insurance covers, and the fire department will write off any remaining balance.”

“Since residents and people working in the city are already paying taxes we chose not to hard bill since we feel they’re already paying a portion of the expenses, unlike private companies which don’t receive taxpayers funding and typically bill the patient directly instead,” said Mason.

For any questions or clarifications, contact Mason by phone at 330-337-3053 or by email at chiefsalemfd@cityofsalemohio.org.