Canfield firefighters to begin running 24/7 ambulance service

The Cardinal Joint Fire District announced a new addition on Wednesday that could mean big changes to the way medical patients are treated during an emergency. 

The fire district announced Wednesday morning that they will now have the capabilities to run ambulance service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Three ambulances will be housed at the stations in Canfield city and Canfield Township. Between the three ambulances, they will cover the 25 square miles of the Cardinal Joint Fire District. 

Chief Don Hutchison says fire district ambulances will be able to respond directly to the scene of a medical emergency, the same way that fire trucks do in many cases. 

Each ambulance will be staffed with paramedics and EMTs according to Hutchison. 

From there, medical emergency patients will notice the biggest difference; emergency medical technicians and paramedics will be able to assist them on the scene, stabilize them, and transport them to the hospital. 

In the past, Chief Hutchison explained that paramedics and EMTs arrived on the scene to provide immediate medical care, and then waited until an ambulance run by a private company arrived to take the patient to the hospital.

Chief Hutchison says the quality of the care improves when crews are able to stay with a patient from the beginning of an emergency until they are at the hospital. The continuous care allows them to provide consistent medical care. 

In order to run the Cardinal Joint Fire District ambulances, the district has been beefing up its medical staff. Chief Hutchison said that over the last six months they have hired nine paramedics and EMTs. 

With the new additions, the department will be able to make sure that there is a paramedic on staff at each of the three stations every day, all day. 

In addition to the beefed up manpower, the ambulances bring new technology to the department. 

Each of the new ambulances brings automatic defibrillators, automated self-lifting gurneys, and expanded hydraulic suspension that ensures patients have a smooth ride, which is a necessity when someone is suffering a medical emergency. 

Canfield city Mayor Richard Duffet told 21 News that the new additions are just another sign of how much the community is growing. 

Duffet said that the residents of Canfield City and Canfield Township are mostly to thank for the new technology. 

The ambulances cost approximately $230,000 each. 

Crews are expected to begin running the ambulances on emergency medical calls starting on July 1st.