The Santa Ana Fire Department has been responding to requests for help for over 100 years. In the beginning, first aid and oxygen were used by firefighters to treat persons in need. Since those times, the Fire Department now delivers state of the art Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to a city of over 350,000 residents. The Santa Ana Fire Department has been providing Emergency Paramedic service to the public for over 25 years.
Emergency Medical Services started with just one modified cargo van staffed by two paramedics and accompanied by an ambulance, the Fire Department paramedics responded to over fifteen calls in each 24-hour time period. The Department now transports all of its patients in Fire Department Advanced Life Support ambulances staffed by two paramedics. They respond to over 12,000 incidents annually providing a rapid response to requests for help.
All firefighters are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians to provide emergency basic life support until the arrival of paramedics. The EMS section of the Fire Department does operate on a cost recovery system. In other words, the Department does charge a fee for EMS. However, at no time will services be denied because of inability to pay. There is a Paramedic Subscription Program available to ensure a no charge status for the people who live in Santa Ana. For more information on this program, please visit the Medical Subscription Program section under Support Services of the Santa Ana Fire Department web site.