9 Investigates

9 Investigates examines program to prioritize 911 response calls

9 Investigates uncovered changes made to the way 911 calls are handled in Volusia County.
If someone calls for help in Volusia County, they might not automatically have an ambulance sent to their location.
“If somebody calls 911, it's for an emergency,” resident Joshua Montgomery said.
The Volusia County Fire Chiefs' Association, led by Holly Hill Chief Jim Bland, recently rolled out the Right Size Response Program.
Dispatchers determine through a series of questions whether a medical 911 call is considered an emergency, and if not, only a fire truck is sent to a scene and not an ambulance.
“We go out and determine if they need to go to the hospital by ambulance or if there's another way we can get them there. Can we get them a car? Can we call a relative?” Bland explained.
The move is expected to save the county around $250,000 per year by eliminating around 10 ambulance rides per day. 
Nearly all of Volusia County’s fire trucks are equipped for Advanced Life Support, which means they provide the same level of care as an ambulance, without transport abilities.
“I think that’s great. I’m actually a paramedic over in Pinellas County and I think we overuse the ambulance system,” paramedic Tom Wight said.
For the first full month of the program, around 1,200 callers who didn’t get an ambulance right away, eventually took one to the hospital, after a wait.
“They should ask over the phone, ‘Do you want an ambulance?’ And if they say no then no, but if they do then send one out for sure,” resident Juliette Huertas said. “If they feel like they need one then they shouldn't be denied that.”
Bland said the plan will be evaluated after three months to work out any issues, but he insists that public safety won’t suffer.
“Every fire truck in Volusia County is equipped like an ambulance,” Bland said.
Channel 9 found that in Seminole County, Orange County and in the city of Orlando, an ambulance or rescue transport vehicle is dispatched to every medical 911 call.