Excerpts from jg-tc.com:
The Mattoon Fire Department’s ambulance service ended at the scheduled time of 7 a.m. Wednesday, and the two private services in Mattoon are now handling all of the local ambulance calls. City officials set the July 25 end date after the Mattoon City Council voted on July 18, 2017 to eliminate the fire department’s ambulance service as a cost-cutting measure.
Firefighters are disappointed that they will no longer be able to provide an ambulance service for Mattoon, however they appreciate that the city has opted to keep the fire department’s advanced life support equipment in operation.
Mattoon firefighters will no longer provide emergency medical transportation, but they will be dispatched to emergency scenes if an ambulance is not immediately available. Firefighters will be able to provide advanced life support care on scene if needed until an ambulance crew arrives to take the patient to the hospital.
Bart Owen, president of Mattoon Firefighters Local 691, said firefighters on Wednesday transferred advanced life support equipment from the department’s three former ambulances to three fire trucks.
The two private services in operation in Mattoon are Mitchell-Jerdan Ambulance Service and Dunn’s Ambulance. Mitchell-Jerdan, based in Mattoon, has provided an ambulance since 1934. Dunn’s, based in Taylorville, has been operating in Mattoon since 2008. The fire department’s ambulance service started full time in 2011.
The city plans to keep the fire department’s three former ambulances in storage for the time being. The city and the firefighters union are still going through grievance processes regarding the ambulance service elimination and an arbitration process for completing a new contract.
City officials have said that the fire department’s ambulance service lost money and duplicated the work of private providers. The firefighters union countered that the department’s service generated needed revenue for the city and provided essential ambulance coverage for Mattoon.
thanks Dennis
