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EMSA starts EMTs at $11/hour. They're so shitty that most other ambulance services don't accept their in-house paramedic certification.

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Wages for Privates around here start just above garbage.   The companies are usually stepping stones for employees who are worth a damn.   Until they can move on to RN or FD jobs.  

That said.   I have heard stories about FD guys bigger cities that do not transport.   Their skills either degrade to the point of incompetence, or they never developed them because they have never worked a box.


I'm fortunate to work a dual role job.   Skills stay fresh, but I get to work the 9% of calls that are fire.    
Fwiw, ems is 50% of our budget income.   We are able to keep  positions funded.   I try to hammer that home to the new guys to keep the bitching down.

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True, you need to be onscene for that.

But, we have fire request upgrades all the time for ridiculous reasons or they want us to take refusals because "it is to much paperwork."

Again, NONE of us were there. For there to be reprimands means something not in the article occurred.

But! But! But! On Chicago Fire!!

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Governments get exactly what they pay for with EMS. Nobody wants to pay what is costs to have an ambulance available for every call.

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Do engines not have airway and other medical stuff on the rig? I thought it was pretty standard for all firefighters to be EMTs with quite a few of them paramedics.  Seems kind of pointless to have EMTs/medics with no medical gear when most of your calls are medical.