The Honolulu Fire Department expressed confidence Friday that it can take emergency medical services under its wing.
"The HFD feels that it has amply demonstrated its capabilities to take on not only the medical mission but the broader, all-hazard mission of the modern fire service," Capt. Terry Seelig, HFD spokesman, said in a statement.
On Thursday, Health Director Loretta Fuddy said she is not prepared to support a merger of the city Department of Emergency Services with the Fire Department as outlined in a study that is mired in controversy.
The city provides emergency services under a contract with the Health Department, which likely would have the final say over any changes in the delivery of those services.
Over the years, most fire officials have supported a merger, while Emergency Services personnel oppose it. The decision to commission a study came only after a process that was "lengthy and wide-ranging and included many, if not all, of the major stakeholders," Seelig wrote. "Only after numerous meetings, discussions and open forums was the decision made to seek assistance from a consultant," he said.
Once a decision was made to hire a consultant, the scope of the work to be done by the consultant was agreed upon by both fire and Emergency Services officials, Seelig said.
"It was never intended to specify a particular service delivery model or organizational structure with detailed position descriptions," he said. "The intent was to make recommendations and let ‘those closest to the work’ decide what makes sense for their agencies and our community."
Seelig said firefighters have long provided pre-hospital medical care and respond with EMS personnel to emergencies. "We respond to approximately 30,000 medical incidents every year where our labor and professional medical skills are used," he said.
Fuddy and Deputy Health Director Linda Rosen were critical of the $175,000 report by Oregon-based Emergency Services Consulting International. The report concluded the merger could save $10 million over five years if duplicative functions were eliminated, but failed to substantiate how and failed to factor in other considerations such as training costs, Health Department officials said.
The consultant also failed to speak to the Fire Department’s medical director or any emergency room physician about their views, Health Department officials said.
The administration of Mayor Peter Carlisle, as well as Emergency Services Director Jim Ireland, said Fuddy’s letter was consistent with their thinking that small steps should be taken to integrate certain duplicative functions of the two agencies.
The Emergency Services Consulting International study is at the center of an investigation being conducted by the city Ethics Commission on how the company was selected.
