Residents on Milwaukee's north and northwest sides who need help in a fire or a medical emergency are now likely to see a quicker response from the Fire Department, officials said Monday.
On Sunday, the department placed a new ambulance in service in a busy, high-crime neighborhood on the city's north side and added a specialized rescue unit in a different neighborhood on the north side. Because 80% of the department's runs are for emergency medical services, officials hope the new ambulance will alleviate some pressure on existing units.
"Our hope is, with looking at all the data, that maybe we can make a difference in our heaviest parts of the city as far as response times," Milwaukee Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing said after dedicating the equipment Monday. "We did some numbers and we found out that most of our apparatus are out of service on calls or training anywhere from 10% to 15% of their calls. So hopefully this ambulance will fill that gap so if we have an apparatus out of service, they can fill that gap and respond to EMS calls in that area."
The department was able to add the capacity because it received a new ambulance as part of the department's 2012 budget.
The federal government paid for two rescue units that will allow a specialized heavy urban response team (HURT) unit previously stationed only on the south side to split into two -- one on the north and one on the south side. The HURT team specializes in structural collapse, rope rescue, trench rescue and confined space rescue. It also rescues civilians and firefighters who are trapped.
With the additional technical rescue unit on the north side, south siders also will benefit, and without adding new personnel, Rohlfing said.
"We didn't increase our funding. We had the rescue trucks. They're going to be staffed by our current firefighters," he said. "All we're doing there is, it's just a logistical issue of we're splitting up the team so we have a team on the south side and on the north side of the city. So rather than one team responding, we have two teams."
The heavy HURT team was previously housed at a firehouse on S. 9th St. and W. Greenfield Ave. The second team will be at N. 50th St. and W. Fiebrantz Ave. The new ambulance will be stationed at N. 30th St. and W. Locust St.
Copyright 2012 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
