Salem Fire Department moves forward with ambulance takeover plans

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Salem Fire Department is moving forward with plans to become the city’s ambulance service provider.

In an email sent to KOIN 6 on Monday, Deputy Chief Of Administrative Services Brian Carrara confirmed that SFD is set to take control of emergency medical transports in Salem on July 1, 2025.

Salem City Council first approved this decision in spring.

Fire Chief Mike Niblock expressed his concerns with Falck Northwest, the current service provider, at a meeting in March. He said the company hadn't fulfilled its contractual obligations in 52 weeks, forcing his department to subsidize its system and require employees to work overtime.

Salem Professional Firefighters President Matt Brozovich also said Falck Northwest meets contract standards about 39.5% of the time — and according to Carrara, these issues have spanned for more than just a year.

“We have partnered with them for the last nine years, with this current year marking our tenth and final one,” Carrara wrote. “Nineteen years ago, we contracted with a private contractor to provide ALS Transport in response to rising EMS costs and insufficient reimbursement. Over the past two and a half years, Falck has struggled to meet the contract's requirements and has not been able to provide the mandated services.”

In response to Salem’s proposal to take over the ambulance, Falck noted a “paramedic shortage” occurring at the national and local level.

American Medical Response was under fire for its slow response times in Multnomah County throughout 2023. County officials fined the company $513,650 in November for failing to respond to some calls within eight minutes.

It wasn’t until earlier this month that both entities reached a tentative agreement, which requires the county to waive AMR’s fines if the company adheres to a 12-month staffing plan.

In Salem, officials have started to form an external committee that will oversee SFD’s transition into an ambulance operator.