
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 31, 1995                   TAG: 9508310002
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: E18   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAURICE A. WILLIAMS III STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EMS MOVE HELPS RESPONSE TIME

Residents in Southeast Roanoke can now get quicker emergency medical service.

An emergency medical crew from Southwest Roanoke has been relocated to Fire Station No. 6 on Jamison Avenue and 14th Street Southeast.

The Emergency Medical Services crew and firefighters started working together on Aug. 1, making them the first such collaboration in Roanoke, according to city officials.

"We see this as a historical step," said Dave Hoback, deputy coordinator of Emergency Medical Services. "It's been very successful."

Hoback said the move to the fire station has decreased the emergency response time. When the ambulance crew operated out of an EMS station on Fourth Street and Day Avenue Southwest, its response time averaged more than six minutes, compared with 4 1/2 minutes at the Southeast location.

Hoback said the number of callers and the difficulty in reaching them led to the decision to relocate.

"This area is the highest call area. One out of every three calls we get is in Southeast," Hoback said. He also said the traffic on Elm Avenue and the railroad tracks factored into the decision.

Southeast Roanoke averages 2,500 to 3,000 calls a year, most of which are residential emergencies and accidents. Hoback said the new crew will provide service to one-fourth of the city's residents and respond to an average of eight calls a day. It will be on duty 24 hours a day.

The EMS crew at Fire Station No. 6 includes six new positions that were appropriated in the current fiscal year budget. Two of the Day Avenue station members also are working out of Station No. 6. Hoback said the new positions will cost the city $147,000 a year but that overall the move will be cost effective.

"It'll save wear and tear on our units," he said.

Hoback said he hopes that with more funding the city can continue to merge the fire and EMS departments. "We're hoping to diversify. If we can do that then we can better serve the public."

by CNB