Advanced Life Support Services

When faced with a life-threatening situation, people want medical help as soon as possible, The Foster City Fire Department provides Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the citizens of Foster City. The EMS and Paramedic program strives to provide the community with quality patient care & superior customer service.  Emergency medical care is delivered by a team of firefighter paramedics and firefighter EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians). 

Foster City participates with all Fire Agencies in San Mateo County in a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to provide first responder, engine-based ALS service to our communities.  This arrangement is a prototype, but it is working out so well that many Counties around the country are watching to see the outcome on a long-term basis.

Essentially, all agencies in the County staff each of their engines with at least one paramedic daily.  This allows patients to receive paramedic treatment faster than before, since the fire apparatus has traditionally arrived on scene before ambulance personnel.

All Fire Department responding personnel are trained to a minimum of Emergency Medical Technician level with over one third of Foster City's first responders trained as paramedics. In accordance with the ALS JPA contract, Foster City staffs each Fire Engine with at least one paramedic daily and, by contract, fire service paramedics arrive on scene within 6 minutes and 59 seconds. Although Foster City units do respond outside of Foster City when they are the closest units to a call within San Mateo County, 93% of all medical responses are right here in Foster City.

The Fire Agency JPA acts as a subcontractor to the ambulance company (American Medical Response West) in a very successful public-private partnership.  As a subcontractor of the private ambulance company, the arrival of Fire Agency paramedics "stops the clock" for the response of the medic personnel.  Transport vehicles can now be fewer, staffed with only one paramedic and further from the scene.  The savings to the ambulance company is passed on to the fire agencies for expenses related to the provision of the service.