City and county leaders gathered for a news conference to announce the collaboration at the Columbia-Richland Fire Department headquarters Tuesday at 10 a.m.
/ Zoheb Hassanali
COLUMBIA (WACH) - Richland County Emergency Services and the Columbia-Richland Fire Department announced a "ground breaking collaboration" Tuesday morning.
City and county leaders gathered for a news conference to announce the collaboration at the Columbia-Richland Fire Department headquarters Tuesday at 10 a.m.
It was announced that firefighters are training to drive county ambulances.
Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said, "This collaboration demonstrates the commitment of RCEMS and CFD to the communities they serve."
Officials say before, if both paramedics were needed for patients, they would have to wait for another ambulence to arrive. Now, trained firefighters will be able to do the job, which will save valuable minutes.
Richland County Councilman Jim Manning was in attendance at the conference.
"We hear often that there are issues that the city or the county don't work together well. That is not true. Sometimes, the timing takes longer than what we would hope for. However, the end product outcome is a tremendous example," said Manning.
Nearly 200 Columbia firefighters have already completed the preliminary training that will allow them to drive county ambulances when necessary.
The Coaching Emergency Vehicle Operator course trains firefighters in operating ambulances. It is a national certification and is instructed by personnel from Richland County EMS. The training consists of four hours of classroom instruction and four hours of practical instruction, according to authorities.
The department hopes to certify 70 more firefighters by October.
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