Emergency medical service has long been a central part of the KCFD mission. Firefighters were trained as providers of first aid even before the development of formal emergency medical services systems. KCFD firefighters began training as emergency medical technicians more than 30 years ago and, since 1992, have been required to be fully licensed EMTs as a condition of employment. Following several rounds of study and review, the City Council decided, effective April 25, 2010, to fully integrate it's emergency medical services system under KCFD. KCFD is now the exclusive licensed and certified provider of ambulance service in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas City has been a pioneer in developing innovative strategies delivering high quality, cost effective emergency medical response to it's citizens and visitors. We were among the first communities to integrate all ambulance service into a high performance public utility model and remain among the nation’s recognized leaders in developing and providing the latest and most effective approaches to care. Our integrated system of response includes fire units and ambulances stationed strategically throughout the city and is designed to place fully trained emergency medical technicians quickly at the patient’s side in any life threatening emergency. Every emergency responder in our system, whether riding a fire engine or an ambulance, is trained to the EMT level or beyond to ensure that care will always be as close as possible.
Our patient outcomes for cardiac arrest—the hallmark of effective responding—are consistently among the very best in the country. Kansas City’s protocols for emergency cardiac care, based on cutting edge research conducted with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Emergency Medicine and the EMS Medical Director’s office, have led the way for evidence based alterations in practice here and elsewhere; those changes in practice have delivered dramatic improvements in outcome that make Kansas City one of the safest cities in America for survival of heart related emergencies. That same approach to innovation is applied to every aspect of emergency medical care, delivering a system that ensures you the best in treatment and the best in care, whatever your need may be.
