AN ANALYSIS OF FlRE DEPARTMENT AND AMBULANCE INTEGRAT ION CASE STUDY. GARY

181 Pages·1998·7.76 MB·English

AN ANALYSIS OF FlRE DEPARTMENT AND AMBULANCE INTEGRATI ON
FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE: UTlLlZlNG WINNIPEG MANITOBA AS A
CASE STUDY.
GARY R. RICHARDSON
A Thesis
Subrnitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of
MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Department of Graduate Studies
University of Winnipeg
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Septernber, 1996
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TABLE OF CONfN€ T S
............................................
ABSTRACT 2
............................................
CHAPTERI 5
.........................................
HISTORY 5
..............................
THE FlRE DEPARTMENT 6
...........................
THE AMBULANCE SERVICE 14
...........................................
CHAPTERII 47
........................
AMALGAMATION: YES OR NO 47
....................................
PATIENTCARE 60
..........................................
CHAPTER III 85
......................................
THEMODEL 85
...................................
CALGARY 86
.................................
EDMONTON 90
...................................
SEATTLE 95
...................................
PHOENIX 98
..........................
NORFOLK. VlRGlNlA 101
BRANDON. THOMPSON. and PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE.
............................
MANITOBA 105
....................................
CONCLUSION 106
.........................................
CHAPTERIV 109
...................................
THEPROCESS 109
.........................................
CHAPTERV 136
....................................
CONCLUSION 136
...........................................
APPENDIXA I
.................................
.
BUDGFTANALYSIS I
....................................
THE ANALYSIS 111
.
FlRE & AMBULANCE SERVICES TOTAL SALARIES &
....................................
BENEFITS IV
. ......
FlRE & AMBULANCE SERVICES PERMANENT SALARIES V
...............
FlRE & AMBULANCE SERVICES .O VERTIME VI
.
WINNIPEG AMBULANCE SERVICES TOTAL PAYROLL
..................................
EXPENSES VI1
WINNIPEG AMBULANCE SERVICES .S ALARIES (PERMANENT) . . VI11
WINNIPEG AMBULANCE SERVICES .O VERTIME .............I X
- ........
WINNIPEG FlRE DEPARTMENT PAYROLL EXPENSES X
- .....
WINNIPEG FlRE DEPARTMENT SALARIES (PERMANENT) IX
................
WINNIPEG FlRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME XII
O
ABBREVIATIONS:
ACLS: Advanced Cardiac Life support
ALS: Advanced Life Support
BLS: Basic Life Support
CPR: Cardiopulmonary Recesitation
CUPE: Canadian Union of Public Employaes
EAA: Edmonton Ambulance Authority
€MA: Emergency Medical Attendant
EMS: Emergency Medical Services
FR: First Responder
IAFC : International Association of Fire Chiefs
IAFF: International Association of Fire Fightefs
MHSC: Manitoba Health Services Commission
NFPS: Norfolk Fire and Paramedic Services
PP and C: Parks Protection and Culture
PRS: Paramedical Rescue Service
.
WAD: Winnipeg Ambulance Department
WAS: Winnipeg Ambulance Service
WFD: Winnipeg Fire Department
ABSTRACT
The issue of Fire Service and Ambulance Service integrationlamalgamation
has now been discussed for ove? three decades in North America. Cities in
the United States and Canada have traditionally provided Fire Services and
many, through a diverse set of models, have evolved into the provision of
Ernergency Medical Services.
This paper examines the issue through analysis of several North American
municipalities who have followed various rnodels in their attempt to partially
merge or fully amalgamate services. Rather than a traditional thesis, the
result is more a practicum.
The history of the Winnipeg Services provides clear and salient examples of
why this issue is so difficult to resolve and the myriad of arguments, for and
against, that emerge each tirne it is mentioned. Yet, despite the arguments,
the question continues to surface at the political level for a variety of reasons
.
and in response to a set of ever changing conditions.
This Dawinian evolution, involving rnutating and growing organizational
mandates, often involves "survival of the fittest" in the classic definition as
different organizations battle for supremacy. The results, while either
supporting or rejecting merger, occur through an amazingly similar cycle of
events that defies distance or political system. This cycle has occurred at
different times throughout the past three decades in various jurisdictions ail
ort th
over America.
~impldye scribed, it involves public pressure which results from a variety of
diverse local conditions (usually service and cost related). This translates
into political pressure, which leads to study and analysis (usually external),
which in turn creates personal lobbying from those in the systems being
studied. The study retums the issue to public pressure which results in
political pressure for or against the results of the study.
The winners and losers in these parochial battles are the service providers
(line staff) and more significantly the citizen, using and paying for, the
services. It is, however, the taxpaying public who are often forgotten in
these struggles.
It became evident to the writer of this pape?, after over two years of study,
interviews, research, and familiarization with the issues, that to create yet
another report with a series of recommendations for or against merger,
would simply relegate the document to its respective stack of already
completed reports. While it is apparent that if Winnipeg wants more efficient
and effective emergency Services, a full arnalgamation of the Fire and
Ambulance departments is a way to achieve them, it is also as evident that
the process through which this is achieved is crucial to success, for despite
the content of other reports, it was universally the process that determined
success or failure in the jurisdictions studied.
It became clear to me that only through designing a truly fair and equitable
process, which is research based and information driven, can the cycle be
broken, and valid results obtained. This is a people problem, and for this
reason, which is al1 too often ignored, the process must involve the people
who will work in whatever system is created. This involvement must occur
at every step, from research to implementation. A process as described in
this paper makes a successful merger possible.
My unavoidable bias on this issue, entrenched throughout a long career in the
Fire Service was, I believe, tempered by the information resulting from the
study conducted. In short, I was forced to utilize a meta process (a process
ta develop process) which enhanced my understanding of both sides of the
issue.
CHAPTER I
HISTORY
The City of Winnipeg at present operates highly effective Ambulance and Fire
Departrnents, both in terms of service quality, and par capita operating costs.
To fully understand the implications of integrating the two services one must
look at the history of the two organizations and how they have evolved to
their present organizational structures and cultures.
With this knowledge the differences in these areas can be identified. Once
this has occurred, it becomes an easier task to recognize these differences,
and by so doing, facilitate integration. This recognition has been lacking in
past attempts to blend the two services and continues today to affect how
they interact with each other in the tiered response system (initial response
by a Fke Department First Responder followed by a Basic Life Support
Ambulance and a Paramedic unit if required) at the Street level and, in
.
particular, at the administrative level. Mutual understanding by both sides of
how the respective organizations have reached the present point would
enhance customer service no matter what service delivery model is chosen.