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Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Acting EMS Director Steve Coltharp wants to see in 2008 a certified paramedic assigned full time to one of the county’s 13 volunteer fire stations.

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By Jim  Konkoly | Highlands Today

Published: December 28, 2007

SEBRING — In 2008, one of Highlands County's 13 volunteer fire departments will become the first to merge with the county's Emergency Medical Service.

Steve Plunkett Coltharp, the acting EMS director, thinks picking the Lake Placid Volunteer Department is both the cheapest and best way to go.

"This is a first step," said Coltharp, a 22-year EMS veteran.

Whether Lake Placid or one of the 12 other volunteer fire departments is chosen, one fire department will be the first with full-time, certified paramedics serving on its fire trucks at all times.

One thing is certain — county EMS needs to upgrade for the safety of Highlands County residents, especially with about 30,000 "snowbirds" here for the winter.

It's not unheard of, Coltharp said, for every one of the EMS's eight ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulances to be out simultaneously on 911 calls.

When that happens, the ninth medical-emergency call has to wait. If it's a serious car crash or a severe heart attack, EMS dispatch presses the department's "Jaws of Life" truck into service as a ninth ambulance.

Manned by either a paramedic and/or an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), the "Jaws Truck," as it's called, serves as the ninth ambulance in a pinch.

The problem with that, Coltharp said, is that the Jaws Truck can transport a paramedic team to the scene, but it cannot be used to transport the patient/victim to a hospital. If transportation to a hospital is necessary, the paramedics on the Jaws Truck have to wait until one of the eight ambulances finishes its emergency call and can get to the ninth emergency scene.

Occasionally, the EMS's acting director said, the Jaws Truck is out as the ninth EMS crew while a tenth medical emergency call comes in. When that happens, Coltharp said, the caller has to wait until one of the nine crews is freed up, even if the 10th caller has a life-threatening situation.

"It doesn't happen that often, but it does happen," Coltharp said.

How frequently?

"I'd say about once a month," he answered.

Snowbirds Strain EMS Manpower

This time of year is the most dangerous, Coltharp said, because 911 medical emergency calls rise substantially during the "snow bird season."

Most of the seasonal snowbirds are old, and thus call 911 for emergency medical service more frequently than other age groups.

While Coltharp has been working on a solution to this problem, some of the volunteer fire departments have been trying to upgrade their operations too.

"Fire and EMS are going to take the first step in 2008 to merge, at a yet-to-be-chosen fire station," Coltharp said Wednesday.

When the county commissioners hire Highlands County's first-ever safety director in January, that person's first major goal will be getting a joint EMS/Fire operation going at one of the 13 volunteer fire departments.

It will work like this:

Four of the EMS's certified paramedics are also state certified firefighters. Three of them will be assigned full time to a volunteer fire department, one that hopes to convert eventually from a volunteer department to a full-time department.

With three EMS paramedic/firefighters assigned to that fire department, one of them will always be on duty through the 24-hours-on/48-hours-off scheduling.

Upgrading Fire Departments Too

That will be a big change for county fire departments, which are staffed mainly or totally by volunteers.

A lot of details need to be worked out, but the big move to kick off this upgrade in EMS and fire protection will be picking which volunteer fire department gets the three EMS paramedic-firefighters.

That department should be one that wants to upgrade to a full-time fire department, probably taking an interim part-volunteer/part-paid step first.

Coltharp thinks the most cost-effective route is to pick the Lake Placid Fire Department. Town officials have recently renovated their old fire station and have hopes of seeing their town triple or quadruple in population in the near future.

Coltharp said he will recommend that Lake Placid be picked, and that the EMS's Lake Placid ambulance station, in the suburban Tomoka Heights area just outside the town limits, be closed.

"It's the cheapest way to go, and I think it's also the best," Coltharp said.

Of course, he added, that's why the county commissioners decided to hire a safety director – not only to coordinate safety services but also to settle any disputes between the different departments and agencies.

Safety Chief Runs Four Departments

The safety director will be the divisional chief executive over four county departments: EMS; the fire departments; EOC; and Highlands County Animal Control.

"We'll have the first merging of EMS and a fire department when the safety director decides," Coltharp said.

Coltharp, who is known to most county residents by his middle name of Plunkett, said this first-step EMS/Fire merger could be in operation by mid year. "But," he added, "I'll be happy if it happens any time in 2008. These things have a way of getting delayed."

First off, he said, the safety director has to "merge the volunteer firefighters with the paid firefighters.

"Then," he added, "he has to make sure everybody involved has standardized training, standardized equipment, and standardized protocols."

Why is Lake Placid the acting EMS director's choice to be the first joint EMS/Fire operation?

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