Unincorporated areas of Allen County will continue to have Emergency Medical Dispatch services.
The announcement came late today/Monday as the clock expired on the service currently provided by the Three Rivers Ambulance Authority, or TRAA.
The agreement was put together by the fire chiefs of the Allen County Fire Protection Districts and the East Central Fire & EMS Territory. It will allow 911 operators to transfer those EMD calls from the Combined Communications Partnership to Heartland Ambulance Service, a private-provider ambulance service.
The EMD service involves the transfer of an emergency medical call to a specially-trained dispatcher to provide pre-arrival assistance while emergency medical crews are en route to the scene.
TRAA said it would discontinue providing EMD service to the unincorporated areas of Allen County effective today/Monday unless the Commissioners paid between $400,000 and $1.6 million.
On Dec. 18, the commissioners held a press conference calling the TRAA proposals “extortion.”
Allen County Fire Chiefs’ Association President Robert Boren said it was important to secure a replacement service for TRAA's emergency medical dispatch service.
"This new service will come with no cost to the taxpayer and meets all national EMD service standards. We are happy with what Heartland can bring to the table as a company that is nationally recognized for their services,” he said. “We want people to know that for emergency situations, there will be no interruptions and no changes to what citizens currently rely on.”
