Coppell EMS To Provide Automatic Aid To Cypress Waters

From City of Coppell:

Sharing resources between area fire departments and emergency medical services is a common practice in the industry called Automatic Aid and Coppell will soon be lending a helping hand to Cypress Waters.

Located in and serviced by the City of Dallas, Cypress Waters is a growing development that borders the city limits of Coppell to the southeast. While there is a temporary fire station in Cypress Waters with a fire truck, paramedic-trained staff, and emergency medical equipment, it lacks an ambulance to transport patients to a hospital.

"The City of Dallas does not have ambulances assigned to the Cypress Waters development," Coppell Fire Chief Kevin Richardson said. "They have a temporary need for a partnership that would allow another department to provide transport services for them. Right now, the nearest transport ambulance is coming from several miles away."

Coppell City Council approved an agreement that would allow Coppell to provide this emergency transport service to Cypress Waters on a temporary basis. The City of Dallas has plans to have a permanent fire station with an ambulance up and running in Cypress Waters within three years.

The agreement specifies that Dallas Fire and Rescue will provide simultaneous primary first responder meaning that the station in Cypress Waters will be dispatched to respond to the emergency and Coppell will be dispatched simultaneously to provide the ambulance. Currently, the area is experiencing a low call volume — about one medical emergency call every 2.5 days — Richardson said, and the nearest transport hospital is less than five minutes away in Las Colinas. Coppell EMS currently has three ambulances in operation.

"I feel this will have a minimal impact on Coppell services," Richardson said. "The only downside would be if a fourth ambulance call came in and one of ours was tied up in Cypress Waters. The chances of that happening with the call volume they're experiencing right now are very slim."

The Coppell Fire Department will be the sole recipient of all ambulance transport fees and the agreement is expected to generate an estimated $250,000 in billable revenue annually for the City of Coppell.

This press release was produced by City of Coppell. The views expressed here are the author’s own.