DALLAS –- For at least 45 minutes on Thursday afternoon, Dallas Fire-Rescue faced its own emergency when every one of its ambulances were tied up on calls, forcing the city to enact a contingency plan and rely on private companies.
Each station was notified in a department-wide announcement Thursday afternoon.
Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) confirms it had no ambulances available to respond to calls during that time Thursday.
DFR staffs 40 EMS units around-the-clock and adds three more during peak hours during the day and on weekends. But Thursday afternoon, every single ambulance was tied up, either transporting or caring for patients, DFR confirmed to WFAA.
During that period, for medical emergencies, Dallas could have dispatched a fire truck, which carries at least one paramedic, but the city could not transport anyone.
DFR had to initiate its contingency plan and put private ambulances on standby. The city has contracts with AMR and CareFlite for emergencies like this, spokesman Jason Evans said.
It's uncertain if they were ever called into service.
But WFAA has learned what happened Thursday is not an isolated incident.
Evans didn't immediately have the exact numbers of how many other times this has happened, but multiple sources inside the fire department told WFAA it has occurred every few weeks lately.
On average, DFR’s call volume increases about 3.5 percent each year, Evans explained. But 2016 has seen a sharper spike, he said. So far up it’s 7.5 percent -- more than double -- and the year isn't done.
DFR recently changed its “transport policy,” the criteria used for determining whether to take a patient to the hospital.
Still, Dallas hasn't added any new ambulances in several years.
DFR commissioned an outside study to determine whether the department needs to add more ambulances or shift them around. The results of that study are due back this summer.
But Thursday's situation now forces the city to take a closer look at public safety -– not just salaries of police and firefighters, but whether they're properly resourced to respond.