South San Joaquin County Fire Authority
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The South San Joaquin County Fire Authority (South County Fire) is committed to providing the best emergency medical care, for the full spectrum of medical emergencies, to the citizens and visitors in our jurisdiction. South County Fire started providing paramedic services in 2003. South County Fire services approximately 170 square miles with 7 strategically located fire stations, 8 fire units, staffed by 82 firefighters, 41 of whom are paramedics and 41 EMTs. All of South County Fire's first out apparatus are staffed by at least one, but usually two, paramedics to provide quick emergency service to all areas of our jurisdiction. Program administration is provided by our EMS Director, who ensures the delivery of high-quality patient care and compliance with all state and local EMS requirements.
Our highly skilled and extensively trained paramedics provide cardiac defibrillation and cardioversion, 12-lead ECG interpretation, advanced airway care like endotracheal intubation, and administer a variety of emergency drugs for problems such as heart attacks, allergic reactions, and narcotic overdoses. Our motto is, “we bring the emergency room to your living room.” We adhere to the medical control policies and procedures set forth by the San Joaquin County EMS Agency (SJCEMSA), and all of our paramedics and EMTs are licensed by the State of California EMS Authority and accredited with SJCEMSA.
In 2019, we responded to 5,300 EMS calls, or about 15 per day. South County Fire is unique in that we respond Code 3 (lights and sirens) to every single 9-1-1 emergency call, regardless of the severity level. We are the “safety net” for the citizens and visitors of our jurisdiction; you call, we respond, each and every time.
Quality assurance and improvement is overseen by the EMS Director with the assistance of a select group of specially trained firefighter-paramedics. This group of individuals, known as Peer Reviewers, review all electronic patient care reports within 24-48 hours of the EMS call. This peer-to-peer review process is a very robust system of checks and balances and allows for real-time feedback to paramedics to ensure we are providing the very best in emergency medical care.