Rural/Metro?

[d_strong]

What happened to Rural/Metro in Rochester,New York. I havent heard any traffic on any of their frequencies in about a week. I hear reference made of them on the Monroe County fire side did they change frequencies? thanks

 

[DaveNF2G]

Hmm. I just attempted to search for them in the FCC database and came up with nothing! Even a wildcard search on just "Rural Metro" comes up blank. I tried Arizona (their home state) as well, with the same results. I'll have to experiment some more when I have time.

 

[Com-Tech51H8]

now this is only a rumor and i hheard this in passing last week on my ems shift that rural metro maybe closing down shop in upstate ny dont know why. like i said i heard this maybe 5er 6th hand idk.

jay

 

[DaveNF2G]

After all the smaller companies they bought out or put out of business, that would be like WalMart closing all of their stores. Lots of people would have noplace affordable or local to shop any more.

If Rural/Metro closed, there would be a lot of communities left without effective ambulance coverage. I can't think of anyone big enough to buy them out, either.

I suspect it's just a rumor being seeded by people who don't like R/M for some reason.

 

[Com-Tech51H8]

like i said dave idk its just maybe a rumor but i dont spreaading thats why isaid this maybe 5 or 6th hand bs so i agree with your insight as far as the walmart stores closing.

 

[d_strong]

follow-up

The newspaper in Rochester today said that the City of Rochester is looking at switching EMS contracts from Rural/Metro back to Monroe Ambulance in the next few months. This morning Rural/Metro was back broadcasting on 469.4500 DCS 205. They had been silent for about 1 week? Thanks

 

[DaveNF2G]

The contract expires every so often and the commercial companies get to bid on it. It's doubtful that the City is already considering a switch without the bidding process having run yet. As usual, the press does less and less fact checking and the public gets more and more confused.

If Rural/Metro had suddenly gone away, it would have been all over the news media. It would have impacted the City of Rochester, several surrounding towns, and at least two adjacent counties.

 

[studgeman]

Syracuse is also R/M. Not sure what other larger cities besides Rochester and Syracuse. I know they have smaller presences scattered around the state.

I like the comparison to wally world. It does seem very similar.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Rural/Metro is a primary BLS and/or ALS provider for Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Livingston, Steuben, Monroe, Cayuga, Onondaga, Madison, Herkimer, Fulton, and Montgomery counties, including the cities of Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse. They also provide mutual aid and non-emergency transfer services in other areas of upstate New York.

 

[nwadler]

Just to make a clarification Rural Metro is not the primary agency for Onondaga county, only syracuse

 

[trainman111]

They also serve the City of Niagara Falls, however they don't serve Niagara County, Erie County, Livingston County or Fulton County. For a complete listing, go to Rural Metro's website of the communities they serve.

http://www.ruralmetro.com/about/locations/newyork.htm

 

[DaveNF2G]

I beg to differ. Tonawanda, Amherst, Cheektowaga, West Seneca, and various other communities served by Rural/Metro are in fact within Erie County.

I have heard Rural/Metro being mentioned as the responding agency to calls in Fulton County. They also serve the Cities of Lockport and Medina, which are in Niagara County.

The statement above is self-contradictory and inaccurate.

 

[trainman111]

They may serve Tonawanda, Amherst, Cheektowaga, and West Seneca, but they ARE NOT the primary service providers for the rest of Erie County. Same goes for Lockport. They DO NOT serve the rest of Niagara County, only Lockport. And Medina, which is in Orleans County is served by Rural Metro, however, the rest of Orleans County is not. If you want to talk about a physical presence in a county then you are correct in your statement, however, if you are going to talk about primary service providers, which you were, per the statement below, then you are not correct.

Rural/Metro is a primary BLS and/or ALS provider for Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Livingston, Steuben, Monroe, Cayuga, Onondaga, Madison, Herkimer, Fulton, and Montgomery counties, including the cities of Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse. They also provide mutual aid and non-emergency transfer services in other areas of upstate New York.

 

[DaveNF2G]

I don't know where you get your information or definitions. A "primary" service provider is one who is dispatched on 9-1-1 calls for service. Rural/Metro is dispatched on 9-1-1 calls and is part of the mutual aid and MCI plans for all of the named counties. That makes them "primary" as an EMS provider.

Maybe it's different in Virginia. New York does not have countywide providers. Every service that has a first-response area is "primary."

 

[trainman111]

Yes it is different in Virginia. We don't have individual fire departments. We have one fire department, which in my case is Chesterfield County Fire Department, then we have individual stations periodically located throughout the county. When I think of "primary" I think of who usually responds. For example, there isn't a spot in the county where Chesterfield Fire/EMS doesn't service, but there are smaller rescue squads, like Manchester Rescue Squad, that have the same response areas as a county fire station. Occasionally, Manchester will get dispatched if an ambulance for a surrounding station is not available. The way I thnk of it, Chesterfield is the primary service provider, and Manchester would be one of the secondary service providers. I guess the way you worded things confused me, especially when you said Rural/Metro is the primary provider of Niagara Coounty, since they only respond in Lockport. I suppose though you would be right because once I sat down and started thinking about what it was like in Clinton County (I lived there for 16 years before moving to VA) CVPH EMS is a primary service provider in the county, even if they only service Plattsburgh and the surrounding area. You know, now that I thnk of it, does Rural/Metro get dispatched on 46.06 in Niagara County? I have family in Middleport and of all the times I've monitored comms on 46.06, I can't ever recall hearing a dispatch for Rural/Metro. And, btw, I got all my info on loactions that Rural/Metro serves direct from Rural/Metro's website.

Okay, rambling is done.

 

[cfrostchief]

Hello Guy's. Just an FYI. Rural Metro is pulling out of Medina NY at 2400 hrs on 7/18. Medina Fire is now paramedic and going to handle all calls in the county. I work for Metro . We are starting to do some coverage for Genesee County on the West Battalion side. Batavia Fire is very busy and sometimes does not have a rig available. On a serious note, the city of Buffalo keeps us very busy and a lot of resources get shifted there. We could use more ambulances ourselves. Take Care Guys.

 

[DaveNF2G]

To Trainman: Yes, I think we're on the same page now. It's the difference between being the primary provider and being a primary provider. New York counties generally have multiple primaries.

To cfrostchief: Interesting news.