AUBURN — Three months in, the city’s ambulance service appears to be doing better then expected, according to fire Chief Frank Roma.

“This program is in its infancy, and as with any new program we will have to look and consider enhancements downstream so the program can be sustainable long-term,” Roma said. “But, in terms of getting the program up on a shoestring, what the men and women of Auburn Fire have done has been second to none.”

Roma presented his update on the city’s new Emergency Medical Service transportation program to city councilors on Tuesday.

Before October 2014, Auburn sent medically-trained firefighters to most medical emergencies reported in the city. Those crews would stabilize patients and hand them off to United Ambulance if they needed to be taken to the hospital.

The city could not bill insurance companies for the costs of responding because city crews did not transport the patients. Insurers only pay for transporting patients. Instead, United Ambulance paid the city $100,000 per year to provide ambulance service.

Auburn’s new service began in mid-October with ambulances stationed at the Central Fire Station on Minot Avenue and the Center Street Fire Station. Roma said the department has 49 emergency medical technicians and 14 higher-trained paramedics on staff. Roma said dispatchers send one paramedic and at least one EMT on every ambulance call.

Auburn’s emergency crews responded to 1,101 calls between Oct. 14 and Jan. 14, and 665 were ambulance calls that involved taking patients to the hospital — more than 60 percent.

Roma said that’s significant because it let him keep the city’s fire pumper trucks parked more often, cutting wear on those vehicles and requiring 820 fewer gallons of diesel fuel compared to the same time in 2013.

“That also means that we have that fire apparatus in station and ready to respond more often,” he said. “They don’t have to be reported as at a scene when they are not needed or returning to the station. They are ready to go.”

On the other hand, the ambulances used 1,707 gallons of regular gasoline.

“When we have a patient in the back of our ambulance, all the insurance companies allow for a mileage charge,” Roma said. “In essence, we can charge for those costs as a part of the overall bill. We are basically able to cover the cost of that fuel spent in our billing.”

The department has billed insurance companies for emergency transport, about $433,000 between Oct. 14, 2014, and Jan. 14. So far, insurance companies have paid $97,087 for city transport.

“We are still now collecting invoices and bills from services we provided in October and November,” Roma said. “There will always be a certain amount written off, just because this is health care in general. But even with this brief, three-month look, our revenue numbers are positive. Couple that with the increased level of service to the community, this is all positive.”

staylor@sunjournal.com