Petersburg Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (PFRES) have expanded their services to area residents to provide a more efficient and seamless process when responding to emergency calls. Effective since July 1, 2014, PFRES now has an Advance Life Support (ALS) ambulance located at Fire Station 3 (1320 Farmer Street) and Fire Station 4 (1907 S. Sycamore St).
“By staffing a fire-service based emergency medical service (EMS) system at these two locations, the department is providing a better quality of care for our Petersburg residents,” said Fire Chief T.C. Hairston. “Firefighters cross-trained as emergency medical technicians and paramedics provide state-of-the-art care.
Emergency calls are now seeing response times of an average of five minutes since the ALS ambulance is responding from within the area the call originated from. PFRES currently has a total of 25 part-time ALS staff and 68 Firefighter/ EMT’s. Fire-serviced based EMS systems are utilized nationwide and are strategically positioned to deliver pre-hospital emergency medical services that incorporate time critical responses and effective patient care.
According to the American Heart Association, persons who experience life-threatening events such as sudden cardiac arrest need treatment to be delivered ideally within 3 to 5 minutes to have a chance for survival. PFRES firefighters and medics are now in a better position to respond quicker and provide vital patient care.
For any emergency calls, please call 9-1-1. For non-emergency calls, please call (804) 732-4222. For more information, please visit www.petersburgva.gov.