CONFIRE to begin ambulance service in San Bernardino County operating areas Oct. 1
The county said the regional fire-agency partnership will run ground ambulance service with Priority Ambulance and that 911 will work the same way it does now.
Consolidated Fire Agencies, known as CONFIRE, was scheduled to begin providing ambulance service in San Bernardino County on Oct. 1 under the name CONFIRE EMS & Mobile Health, the county said in a news post dated Sept. 24.
Residents may see new markings on ambulances and new crew uniforms, the county said. It said emergency services would continue without interruption and that the 911 system would work as it does today.
Anyone needing emergency help should keep calling 911, according to the post.
What CONFIRE will operate
The county described CONFIRE as a partnership among fire agencies in the region that handles dispatch coordination for fire and medical emergencies.
Under the new arrangement, CONFIRE will run the ambulance system for what the county calls its exclusive operating areas, the post said. Among them are a number of unincorporated communities covered by the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.
Services listed by the county are ground ambulances, response to 911 emergencies, transfers of patients from one health care facility to another, and critical care transport.
CONFIRE is partnering with a private company, Priority Ambulance, which the county identified as the second-largest ambulance provider in the nation.
Dispatch and nurse screening
CONFIRE's Command and Control Center will coordinate ambulance responses, relying on dispatch protocols to match resources to each call, the county said.
For some 911 calls where the medical need is less urgent, CONFIRE also uses a program called the Emergency Communications Nurse System.
In those cases, a registered nurse evaluates the caller and can refer the person to telehealth, urgent care, a doctor's office or a pharmacy if neither an ambulance nor a trip to the hospital is needed, according to the post.
The county said that approach leaves ambulances, hospitals and first responders free for emergencies that are more critical.
The system involves dispatchers, nurses, ambulance crews, fire agencies and hospitals, among other partners, the post said.
"By bringing together local oversight, experienced personnel and additional resources, the new system will strengthen regional emergency response and help ensure care is available when residents need it most," Board of Supervisors Chairman and Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe said in the post.
More information is available at confire.org/ems-service, the county said.