Milwaukee's fire chief and private ambulance partners vowed to make changes after a woman died near a bus stop in January.
"We are reeling in the wake of this. We're feeling a tremendous amount of pressure right now to make this right," Chief Aaron Lipski told the city's Public Safety and Health Committee on Thursday.
The was the committee's first meeting after Jolene Waldref died in the cold. Reports indicated that Waldref called 911 for help. A Curtis Ambulance crew responded but could not locate her citing snowbanks and other obstructions. While the first responders spent about 7 minutes checking the intersection, they did not get out of their vehicle to look.
The two ambulance companies that partner with the city Bell Ambulance and Curtis Ambulance, were also at Thursday's committee meeting and stressed that they are on board with changes.
"We have full intent to adopt the chief's SOG (Standard Operating Guidelines) as soon as he can get me a clean copy," Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Bell Ambulance Wayne Jurecki stated.
"We don't have to be forced to do anything. We have a willingness to comply and do what's right, and we will do that," said James Baker, CEO of Curtis Ambulance.
Chief Lipski explained that some changes are already in place.
Since February 7, the fire department and ambulance providers are expected to leave their vehicles to check for a patient if they cannot be found right away. Those efforts may include utilizing dispatch to reconnect with the caller or patient, interacting with bystanders and activating lights and sirens.
"That is a stopgap measure, so that is something that has happened just given the urgency of the situation," Chief Lipski said.
Fire officials are also analyzing technology for locating 911 calls from a cell phone. Additionally, they are also looking at beefing up the response during extreme weather conditions.
Baker apologized for how he handled a joint press conference with the fire department last month.
"I was looking at this in a very technical way, and I lost some of my compassion doing that and I apologize too for that," Baker added.
The Common Council held off voting on an amendment to the city's contract with Bell and Curtis Ambulance last week. The delay was in response to Alderman Lamont Westmoreland's resolution directing the fire chief to conduct a review, require rescue crews to exit their vehicle when searching for someone in need and explore other protocols and improvements.
Jurecki explained that the delay in formally passing the amendment contributed to a cash flow issue despite the city's previous approval.
Since Jurecki and Baker verbally committed to changes the committee voted to send the contract amendment to the full council for a vote.
Alderman Westmoreland was out sick during Thursday's meeting. In an email, Westmoreland stated that based on the meeting and conversations with Chief Lipski he is confident in the changes and has no objection to the contract with the ambulance providers.
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