NCFPD to station and staff BLS ambulance in Vista

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The North County Fire Protection District will be stationing and staffing a basic life support ambulance in Vista for a 30-day trial period.

The use of a reserve ambulance and two single-role emergency medical technicians is intended to improve regional response. The NCFPD board voted 5-0 March 22 to approve the deployment of the BLS ambulance and staff members.

“This is a step in the right direction,” said NCFPD Fire Chief Keith McReynolds. “It will be a benefit for us. It will be a benefit for the rest of North County.”

What is known as the “North Zone” has an automatic aid program where the closest available resource is deployed regardless of the city or fire district where the call for service is needed. “The North County Fire Protection District participates in an ambulance boundary drop program,” McReynolds said.

Vista is among the fire agencies participating in the boundary drop agreement. “The Vista fire chief called an emergency meeting a couple of weeks ago,” McReynolds said.

The location of Vista causes Vista Fire Department resources to be deployed to other cities or unincorporated communities. “In a perfect world we would have about the same number of auto aid given and auto aid received,” McReynolds said. “It’s not equal for all agencies.”

The Vista Fire Department is an agency of the City of Vista. The Vista Fire Protection District, which includes part of southern Bonsall as well as unincorporated Vista, contracts with the City of Vista for fire protection and emergency medical services so the Vista Fire Department is also the primary agency providing service within the Vista Fire Protection District boundaries.

The automatic aid calls have left Vista itself without ambulance service, and the City of Vista had considered withdrawing from the ambulance boundary drop agreement. “That would have had significant and immediate impacts for the North County Fire Protection District,” McReynolds said. “Their problem quickly became our problem.”

The Vista Fire Department’s Station 6 is off of East Vista Way. The NCFPD ambulance will be staffed there from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. “It will be available for the entire North County area,” McReynolds said.

The North County Fire Protection District fleet includes three reserve ambulances. “We’re going to grab one of those,” McReynolds said.

Three NCFPD ambulances are based at fire stations and are used for calls. “We’ll be able to meet that higher call demand with reserves,” McReynolds said.

The use of single-role emergency medical technicians means that no NCFPD firefighters will be based outside of the NCFPD boundaries.

The estimated personnel, fuel, maintenance, and other operational costs are $20,000 per month. The 30-day trial period will confirm or refute the belief that ambulance billing will recover the NCFPD operational expenses. “We as North County will be able to keep all the ambulance revenue associated with that,” McReynolds said.

Subsequent NCFPD board meetings will include monthly status reports on the ambulance deployment trial agreement.