By Kendra Bryant
AFRO Intern
Baltimore City firefighters have reached their breaking point with the city’s decision this month to downgrade four medical units from Advanced Life Support (ALS) to Basic Life Support (BLS).
Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734 serves as a union for Baltimore firefighters and paramedics. President Matthew Coster spoke with many workers to get their thoughts on the changes.
“Their feedback has been direct and emotional,” said Coster. “Many feel unsupported and stretched to their breaking point.”
The shortage of ALS units will drastically affect the daily lives of medics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
“For firefighters and paramedics, this means fewer resources and more pressure on the remaining ALS units to cover complex emergencies citywide,” said Coster. “They were among the first to raise concerns, warning us that these changes would increase their workload, create unsafe working conditions, and delay critical care.”
Feeling overworked is a main factor that led to the firefighters’ dissent. Staffing shortages amongst medics are an ongoing issue, now worsened by the decrease.
“This will lead to burnout among medics and firefighters who are working excessive overtime to try and meet demand,” said Coster. “It’s a vicious cycle: overworked providers are more likely to leave, worsening the staffing shortage.”
An American Ambulance Association study revealed that 39 percent of part-time EMT and 55 percent of part-time paramedic positions went unfilled due to low pay. IAFF Local 734 calls on the city to provide more funding and staffing to meet the needs of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
In his 2021 first-year action plan, Mayor Brandon M. Scott pledged to “strengthen the management and staffing infrastructure of the EMS Division to fulfill departmental needs and best serve Baltimore residents.”
“We want the city to not patchwork solutions that delay care when minutes matter most,” said Coster.
A reduction in ALS units is expected to result in delayed response times. Recent crises, such as the Penn North overdose, reveal that the community needs more support.
“EMS, public health officials, and community partners distributed critical harm reduction supplies to those impacted,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott in a press release. “Teams distributed Narcan, test strips, safe use kits, and other harm reduction resources aimed at reducing overdoses.”
With fewer units, many initiatives of the medical services will suffer.
“For those in Baltimore, particularly already facing health disparities, this decision reduces access to the life-saving care that ALS units provide,” said Coster. “Response times for calls such as overdoses, heart attacks, and severe trauma will likely increase because there are now fewer ALS units in service.”
The union continues to advocate for a change in decision, calling for action from the city.
“We continue to push for transparency, investment in recruitment and retention, and proper use of opioid settlement funds to strengthen our public EMS system—not weaken it,” said Coster. “The people of Baltimore deserve nothing less.”