From The Californian: A call by Riverside County for cities to weigh in on a debate regarding ambulance services has revived a desire by the Murrieta Fire Department to provide that service.

Fire Chief Matt Shobert and City Manager Rick Dudley have requested that the county consider allowing the city's fire department to provide the services that now are being provided by American Medical Response, which has an exclusive contract for providing ambulance services to more than 95% of the county.

In a four-page letter to Bruce Barton, the county's ambulance agency director, Shobert and Dudley said Murrieta is far better equipped to handle the transport of its patients to hospitals because:

• Emergency response crews are local residents who can navigate the city's streets better than AMR's personnel;
• The department's standard response time is more than three minutes shorter than AMR's standard response time;
• Patients are more likely to survive their emergency if they are treated by one crew from the time they're picked up to the time they're dropped off at the hospital.

The city does not pay for the ambulance services, rather a person who is transported by AMR is billed $1,200 to $1,500. The county pays AMR $95 million per year and has awarded the company exclusive rights to the contract since 1998. Only a few cities, such as Idyllwild, have been approved to provide their own services or rely on the county fire department for emergency transportation.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/murrieta/article_a8192b1f-dff7-513e-a4b3-f4042e61f73a.html#ixzz1V8BG5l5N