From Cleveland.com: Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson this week named Edward Eckart Jr., formerly commissioner of the Emergency Medical Service, to the job of assistant safety director. Eckart will help integrate nearly 800 firefighters and 240 EMS workers into a new Division of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Service by the end of 2012.

Cleveland debated such a merger for years. Opponents of a merger alleged a power grab by firefighters to save jobs as fires declined and ambulance runs increased. Others worried that a largely white fire department would not meld easily with the women and minorities in the EMS.

Under the existing arrangement, firefighters at neighborhood stations often are the first on the scene and provide medical treatment. As envisioned under a merger, all crews would be able to fight fires and tend to medical cases.

Jackson said that improved response times will result from medical treatment dispatched from neighborhood fire stations.
The merger will be "budget neutral," with no additional costs involved, the mayor said. Read the entire article here.