Emergency Medical Services

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Emergency Medical Services for the City of Downey are provided by dedicated Firefighters, Firefighter/Paramedics, and Ambulance Operators. These highly trained professionals respond from four strategically placed fire stations, located in the corners of the city. Their locations ensure that units will arrive quickly to any emergency. Each fire station houses one Paramedic Engine Company as well as an Ambulance. This model provides the highest level of service to our city while keeping response times to a minimum. It ensures that highly trained paramedics will arrive quickly to the scene of a medical emergency, providing Advanced Life Support services to patients. They are supported by Ambulance Operators, who respond with the Paramedic Engine on a transport-capable ambulance. Together, these teams provide comprehensive patient care including administration of medications, cardiac monitoring and defibrillation, respiratory therapies, and communication with emergency room physicians. For patients requiring transportation to a hospital, Downey Fire Department ambulances patients to the most appropriate area hospital, while continuing care. Transportation costs are covered for subscribers to the City offered, Emergency Transportation Subscription Program.

The EMS Division of the Downey Fire Department is managed by a team of individuals dedicated to program administration, training and certification, quality improvement, fiscal responsibility. This team is comprised of a Chief Officer, an EMS Captain, a Nurse Educator, and a Ambulance Coordinator. Together, this team ensures the highest level of service is delivered to our city.

Emergency Transportation Subscription Program

Personnel in uniform with ambulance

Each year, over 7,000 patients are transported by ambulance in the City of Downey.

The Emergency Transportation Subscription Program is a supplemental insurance that will cover any “out of pocket” expenses for emergency transportation within the city. If you have medical insurance, the City of Downey will bill that insurance carrier for the full cost of the service. Any unpaid balance will be covered by the Emergency Transportation Subscription Service. Billing your insurance company helps maintain the minimal annual fee charged to subscribers. As a subscriber, all permanent residents of your household will be covered by the program. In some cases, they may be required to provide proof of residency that was valid on the date of service, such as California ID, California Driver’s License, or other identification.

While no one plans on needing emergency ambulance transportation, here are the facts:

Assessment At Scene/No Transport: Flat Fee of $300.
Basic Ambulance Transportation Fees begin at $2,171.00 per occurrence. **
Advanced Paramedic Transportation Fees begin at $3,252.00 per occurrence. **

**Per The County of Los Angeles General Public Ambulance Rates effective July 1, 2023 - for the latest LA County rates please visit LA County General Public Ambulance Rates .

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The subscription period of the Emergency Transportation Subscription Program is March 1st through February 28th.

To Enroll: Print and complete the bottom portion of the Emergency Transportation Enrollment Form 2024-2025 07.10.24and return it with a check or money order payable to the 'City of Downey' in the amount of $65.00 to:

City of Downey
Emergency Transportation Subscription Program
P.O. Box 607
Downey, CA 90241

For additional information, please call the City of Downey Fire Department at 562-904-7345.

Frequently Asked Questions

ETSB
- What does the Subscription Program Cover?
  1. The City of Downey Fire Department and Paramedics will medically evaluate a patient free of charge when responding to a 9-1-1 call. However, if you are transported by the City of Downey Paramedics or Ambulance there is a charge for those services.
  2. In the event a Private Ambulance is used for a 9-1-1 Emergency Transportation, submit your Medical Insurance to the Ambulance Company who transported you. Your Subscription will cover any unpaid balance; a copy of your invoice from that Ambulance Company must be received in our billing office in a timely manner.
  3. After your Emergency Transport; a copy of your Medical Insurance card MUST be provided when requested.
  4. Subscribers without Medical Insurance, upon receipt of their first Transport Billing Invoice, must request a “No Medical Insurance Certification Form” from the City of Downey billing office. It must be signed and returned to the billing office in order to use their subscription for their entire billed amount.
  5. This Program only covers 9-1-1 Emergency Calls with a PICK-UP location within the city limits of Downey. This Program WILL NOT cover ambulance transportation from the Hospital back to the patient’s residence or another facility.
- Who does the Subscription Program Cover?
  1. Only residents of the subscribed address are eligible for this Program. You MUST notify the billing office of ANY changes to the list of residents so the Subscription can be updated.
  2. Residents may transfer their subscription to another Downey residence by notifying the billing office as soon as possible.
  3. Visitors to a subscriber’s residence requiring Emergency Transport ARE NOT covered by this program.
- When does the Subscription Program Cover?
  1. You may enroll at any time during the policy period, but AFTER March 1st your subscription will begin the date of your postmarked envelope or payment receipt when paying in person at the City of Downey Cashier Counter.
  2. Payments received AFTER March 1st will ONLY cover transports from your payment date forward.
  3. The Subscription Fee will NOT be pro-rated if payment is made after March 1st and the Subscription fee is NOT refundable.
  For additional information, please call the City of Downey Emergency Transport Billing Office at 562-904-7254.

EMS History

Black and white photo of emergency medical personnel

The Downey Fire Department’s EMS history began in 1974 when 8 firefighters from the Department were selected to attend Paramedic training. However, the concept of Paramedic providers began 5 years earlier when on September 12, 1969, 6 firefighters from Los Angeles County Fire Department enrolled in a pilot Paramedic program at Harbor General Hospital. These initial paramedics were trained by Dr. J. Michael Criley and Critical Care Unit Nurse Carol Bebout. In December of that year, LA County Fire Rescue Unit, Squad 59, was placed into service with the paramedics on this squad responding to calls for services from Harbor General Hospital accompanied by Coronary Care Unit Nurses. At the time, no legistlation existed allowing paramedics to practice prehospital medicine. Then on July 14, 1970, The Wedworth-Townsend Paramedic Act was signed into law by then Governor Ronald Reagan and California became the first state to adopt legislation defining “certification” and permitting paramedics to provide advanced medical life support. Three years later, the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act of 1973 was signed into law, establishing federal grant funding for EMS systems and expanding paramedic training.

Vintage photo of emergency medical personnel The Downey Fire Department’s Paramedic service commenced in June of 1974 when 8 firefighters were selected to attend an intensive 5-month training program at the Paramedic Training Institute located at the University of Southern California (USC) Medical Center. This initial group of 8 trainees included firefighters Dave Cluff, Clint Crosby, Forrest Darling, Steve Knight, Bruce Robinson, Ed Shubin, Don Slumpff, and Bob Wheeler. Upon graduation from the Program, the newly trained Paramedics were able to provide pre-hospital advanced medical and trauma care to the citizens of Downey. Then on November 9, 1974, on Rescue 641 out of Fire Station # 1, Paramedics Dave Cluff and Bruce Robinson responded to the first “Paramedic” call in the City.

By 1985, with increasing calls for medical service and the northeast part of the City relying on Santa Fe Springs Fire paramedics for emergency medical services (as Santa Fe Springs was the nearest paramedic unit), the City of Downey decided to add a second paramedic squad. And in March 1986, Paramedic Squad 642 was placed into service at Fire Station # 4 at 9349 Florence Avenue. Squad 642 began providing advance medical care to the North and East portions of the City. Also that year, the Fire Department initiated the advance life support (ALS) transport subscription program. This program offered residents the ability to pay a small annual fee to cover the cost of ALS transport. With this subscription fee, any need for transport would not result in out-of-pocket cost to the residents. In 1999, to provide more rapid transport of non-critical patients and maintain Paramedic services available for the critically injured and/or ill patient, Downey Fire implemented the Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance service. On December 7, 1999, BLS Rescue 644 was placed into service and housed at Fire Station # 3 at 9900 Paramount Blvd. Rescue 644 is now designated 645 and is staffed by 2 Ambulance Operators. A second BLS Rescue Ambulance (646) was placed in service at Fire Station #2 in 2012.

Growing demand for Emergency Medical Services within the city caused a shift in the delivery model in 2015. Two paramedics would now ride aboard each of the four fire engines within the city. The two ambulances previously staffed by paramedics would become four, and be staffed by Ambulance Operators. This change in how responders are housed and respond to the scene of emergency medical incidents allows all fire stations in the city to be staffed by dual function firefighter/paramedics. The alternative staffing model ensures that paramedics arrive on the scene of an emergency in a minimum of time. Additionally, with each engine having a dedicated transport ambulance, the time required to transport the sick and injured to local emergency rooms is greatly reduced.

In 2020, Downey Fire Department responded on nearly 7,700 emergency medical incidents. While incident volume has increased since the program’s inception, so too has the city’s dedication to provide the highest level of service for residents. Downey Fire Department Paramedics are not only trained to meet the high standards of Los Angeles County Prehospital Care, but a dedicated registered nurse educator regularly provides quality improvement. Continuing the traditions set forth nearly 4 decades ago, Downey Fire Department EMS is constantly growing to provide the best possible service to the city.

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