The Salem Fire and EMS are called upon for emergency medical services more than 4,000 times a year and transports over 3,000 of these patients to three local hospitals. We operate three fully staffed advanced life support ambulances 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Monday through Friday 7 am to 7 pm, we also staff an additional advanced life support ambulance. In addition to the ambulances, all three of our front-line fire trucks are fully equipped with advanced life support gear and personnel to stabilize any patient needing help until the transport can be done.
Our most specialized vehicle is the Fire Medic 1 vehicle. This is the unit that the EMS Captain responds in. It carries most of our specialized equipment such as the Lucas 2 CPR device, the rapid sequence intubation drug kit, the butterfly ultrasound, and the Zoll ventilator. The EMS Captain and the paramedics that fill in for them spend countless hours a year training on this equipment.