The Emergency Medical Services Section staff consists of the Deputy Chief, Medical Director, Programs Manager, and three Staff Captains. In addition, there are four Registered Nurses who serve under the Programs Manager. Three of the Nurses are paired with the staff Captains as district representatives for various programs, including EMT, paramedic training, liaisons with the base hospitals, and the continuous quality improvement program (CQI). The fourth RN serves as the EMS prevention services program coordinator; responsible for the Baby Shots program, the Adult Flu program, and other related events.
History of EMS
The Phoenix Fire Department is the sole provider of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) within the City of Phoenix. The Department has a long history of emergency medical service, going back to 1926, providing "inhalator" service to the community. In the 1950’s, the Department trained all members to American Red Cross Advanced First Aid levels. In 1971, the first EMT’s were certified and, in 1974, all members completed EMT certification. The first paramedics were certified in December of that year.
The Fire Department uses a fully integrated system, utilizing dual-role firefighters in the delivery of fire and emergency medical services. Approximately 900 firefighters are trained to the level of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and about 300 firefighters are Certified Emergency Paramedics (CEPs).