What is CONFIRE EMS and why was it created?

CONFIRE EMS was established to provide a holistic approach to emergency medicine to include: emergency medical ground ambulance transportation, 9-1-1, interfacility, and critical care transportation. Our approach incorporates access to our state-of-the-art Command and Control center featuring Emergency Medical Protocol Dispatching (EMD) and Emergency Communications Nurse Systems (ECNS) ensuring the right medical resources are dispatched to your emergency.

​

What Fire Departments or Cities make up the CONFIRE EMS Division?

• Apple Valley Fire Protection District

• Chino Valley Independent Fire District

• Colton Fire Department

• Loma Linda Fire Department

• Montclair Fire Department

• Ontario Fire Department 

• Rancho Cucamonga Fire District

• Redlands Fire Department

• Rialto Fire Department 

• San Bernardino County Fire District

• Victorville Fire Department

• City of Yucaipa 

 

Will CONFIRE EMS be working with a private company to deliver ambulance services to the county? 

CONFIRE retained Priority Ambulance through a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process to begin a public-private alliance model. Priority will assist CONFIRE with the management of the ambulance transportation for a large portion of San Bernardino County, collectively identified as a Comprehensive Service Area. Priority Ambulance shares CONFIRE’s Mission, Vision, and Values to serve the needs of our community through robust emergency and non-emergency ground ambulance transportation of our patients.

​

What services will CONFIRE and Priority Ambulance deliver?

• 911 Response

• Advanced Life Support (ALS)

• Basic Life Support (BLS)

• Interfacility Transport (IFT)

• Critical Care Transport (CCT)

 

Who is Priority Ambulance? 

Priority Ambulance, the nation's second-largest ambulance provider, will manage the majority of ambulance transportation needs for CONFIRE. 

 

Priority Ambulance is a dynamic, rapidly growing company serving communities in 13 states nationwide. The company has been on Inc. Magazine's list of 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America for five consecutive years. Since the company started in 2014, Priority Ambulance has expanded through new business wins, acquisitions, and new startups. Priority Ambulance is well-capitalized and supported by Consonance Capital Partners, a strategic investment firm focused exclusively on companies' longer-term success in the healthcare sector.

​

More than half of the company's 610,000 annual patient transports are in response to a public call to 9-1-1, while the balance of transports originates through requests from healthcare facilities. More than 4,100 highly trained paramedics and EMTs staff a fleet of 830 state-of-the-art ambulances and support vehicles with the latest medical equipment and technology throughout its national service area.

 
Why does a public-private partnership matter?

CONFIRE’s commitment to excellence in service and stewardship has led us to a public-private partnership. This partnership ensures that we combine our commitment to serve the community with the efficiency of private business practices.  Our collective efforts enable us to allocate emergency ambulances to meet the needs and demands of a growing county.

​

Why is a public-private partnership more beneficial? 

A public-private partnership is advantageous for all county residents due to the following reasons:

1. Transparency / Accountability: as a public agency, CONFIRE and the allied agencies that make up the JPA are accountable to each community and the county through open public meetings.  Through this partnership, first responders and the public can know precisely where and how ambulances are deployed to serve our communities. 

2. Access: this partnership allows CONFIRE to add additional ambulances, paramedics, and EMT’s depending on increased demand for each geographic area/location in the Comprehensive Service Area. 

3. Optimizing Resources: By having a platform that tracks all active incidents, responses, and real-time operations, resources can be mobilized quickly to different county regions. Optimization of emergency services ensures that emergency resources are available to each community member when they need it most.

4. Public responsibility: government agencies are obligated and committed to prioritize and safeguard public health and safety. As a public organization, CONFIRE JPA has the civic duty to ensure the vital services of ground ambulance transportation meet the needs of each city and county area we service.

 

How will CONFIRE provide accelerated, highly responsive, and enhanced services? How many ambulances will be available to cover each area? Will multiple units be assigned to each City and staffed at fire stations, or will they be parked at various and rotating posts based on availability level?  
Through a tiered response model, we will be able to efficiently address:

• Redundancy: Significantly reduce redundant and paralleled responses. 

• Response Time: Ensuring immediate dispatching of emergency ambulances for:

  • Critical calls at the same time as our first responders

  • Improving access to remote geographical areas within the county that have historically experienced delayed response and service times

  • Streamlined radio dispatch communications between all of our ambulances and our fire department resources, decreasing response times and providing a safer work environment for all first responders, ensuring our patients have the quickest and most coordinated response in their time of need

• Ambulance Placement:  Ambulances will be strategically positioned to provide the fastest response to emergency 9-1-1 calls. This includes the following location plan:

  • Strategic ambulance placement to optimize response times

  • Break stations for our field personnel at many of the fire stations within our Comprehensive Service Area

  • Activating the fire department’s first responder Paramedics and EMTs on ambulances during critical incidents, and unforeseen large-scale emergencies that result in a higher demand of ambulance resource

 

How do we know there will be enough ambulances for our city and ensure they are not all deployed elsewhere in the county? 

CONFIRE will have real-time 24/7, 365 days a year, systems and ambulance coordinators in our Command Center who will be responsible for deploying and monitoring ambulances throughout the Comprehensive Service Area. CONFIRE partnered with world-class leaders in the ambulance transportation industry to provide complex ambulance demand analysis and deployment models that best serve our communities. 

​

What will happen to AMR employees?    

CONFIRE, in collaboration with Priority Ambulance, has no intention of displacing employees and desires to employ as many individuals of the incumbent workforce as possible. We value the contributions of the incumbent workforce. Our objective is to enhance community access and services to all community members through our ground ambulances provided for both 9-1-1 requests and for interfacility transportation needs. Priority Ambulance is committed to honoring AMR employee contracts and preserving their tenure should they continue their career with Priority Ambulance.  

 

Who should I contact regarding my specific city to answer questions?  
For any inquiries, don't hesitate to contact us at confireinfo@confire.org.