Wichita and Sedgwick County have been working together to make changes in the response to 911 calls, to make sure that there is more efficient, effective service around the community.
Wichita city council members heard a report on the program during a workshop meeting Tuesday. The city’s fire department and the EMS system have been looking at data from 911 calls over the past three years, to determine which calls could be managed with a more streamlined response. Fire chief Tammy Snow said changes have been made that have reduced her department’s response to medical calls by more than 50 percent, saving fire trucks for more serious calls. She said that will allow more fire trucks to remain in the station to be ready for more serious medical calls and emergency situations.
Snow is proposing a pilot program to replace squad trucks with pickups and brush trucks. She said they would be more efficient in handling grass fires and brush fires, and it would save taxpayer dollars. She would have pickups working in the core area and brush trucks would operate along the edges of the city.
Dr. John Gallagher, EMS System Medical Director, said one of the next steps is to create a community response team similar to teams that have been used in cities like Colorado Springs and Tulsa. Each team would have a mental health worker, a police officer and a paramedic firefighter, and they would provide a better response to situations that may involve behavioral health issues or substance abuse.
The goal of the improvements will be to safe law enforcement, fire and ambulance personnel and equipment for the more serious emergencies, without having to deploy them to every 911 call.
