[B]URLINGTON — City residents experiencing traumatic pain from injuries like a collapsed lung or broken femur or serious medical conditions like a kidney stone or seizures are likely to experience relief and improved care beginning this winter.
That’s because the Burlington Fire Department plans to start sending paramedics out on medical calls beginning in mid-November with the eventual goal of having a paramedic in the ambulance for every emergency response, city officials announced Wednesday.
Mayor Miro Weinberger said the fire department is one branch of city government that is consistently praised by residents, so it may “come as a surprise” to many in Burlington that the city’s fire department doesn’t offer paramedicine.
Currently the city relies on emergency medical technicians (EMTs), who are adept at providing prehospital medical care, but don’t have the same level of training as a paramedic and are more limited in the medicines they can use in the field.
Paramedics will help the department offer better prehospital care in the “most stressful and traumatic moments” city residents experience, Weinberger said.
Dr. Michael Sheeser, an attending physician at the UVM Medical Center emergency department, said that, despite Burlington’s proximity to the medical center, it can take time for emergency responders to get patients to the hospital.
Many of surrounding municipalities in Chittenden County already have paramedics on emergency crews, and he’s seen firsthand the difference they can make in improving a patient’s condition, Sheeser said.
Outgoing Burlington Fire Chief Seth Lasker said the initiative is a collaboration between the city, the hospital and the firefighters union. Lasker will retire at the end of the month, and a search is underway for his replacement.
The cost of training has been a hurdle for the city. It takes 1,600 hours to get certified as a paramedic, versus 120 to 300 hours for an EMT.
The Fire Department hopes to eventually have nine paramedics, so that three can be on duty every shift. There are currently five people with paramedic training, who have obtained certification independently. A sixth is preparing to take his final test for certification, Lasker said.
Burlington has $15,500 to train three additional paramedics. Annual training costs are expected to be $28,000 going forward, according to city officials.
While the city’s contract with the Burlington Fire Fighters Association 3044, which was recently approved by City Council, is expected to pave the way for Burlington’s paramedic services, it is still an “open item” in the collective bargaining process, Weinberger said.
The union and the city still haven’t agreed how they will split the cost of training between employees and the city, he said. The Fire Department’s emergency responders are also seeking a “modest” pay increase for becoming paramedics, Weinberger said, which also has not been agreed upon yet.
Once resolved, those items will be brought before City Council as an addendum to the contract, city officials said.
Finding a new fire chief
Weinberger said the city has received several applications and resumes from people interested in succeeding Lasker as fire chief, and he’s convened a selection committee that includes members of the fire commission, UVM’s Dr. Sheeser and residents.
The committee has begun to interview candidates, but there is likely to be a “short gap” during which the city will rely on an interim fire chief.
“These are important decisions and we want to take the time to get them right,” Weinberger said.
Correction: Burlington will train three additional paramedics. An earlier version of this story said the city would hire that number.
