Fire commission hails supplemental request to add dozens of paramedics amid rising call volume

Chief of Department Janine Nicholson told the Fire Commission that city leaders last week introduced a supplemental budget request to add 50 ambulance paramedics to the Fire Department’s EMS division. "[The mayor] introduced a supplemental budget request for an additional 50 paramedics," Nicholson said, adding that the request builds on 10 paramedics earlier included in the adopted budget and the 35 community paramedics the department has previously added.

Those numbers, Nicholson said, would translate to roughly 95 new full-time EMS positions when combined with prior approvals: 60 paramedics for ambulance operations, 35 community paramedics and previously authorized hires. She said the hires would support additional ambulances and relieve overtime pressure caused by rising call volumes.

Why it matters: The department has seen rising calls and staffing strain. Assistant Deputy Chief Sandy Tong told the commission that the department’s goal is for 90% of code-3 ambulance responses to arrive within 10 minutes, but "we haven't quite met that" in recent months and the staffing additions are intended to address that shortfall.

Commissioners pressed for details and praised the effort. Commissioner Francie Covington described the news as "wonderful" and thanked the mayor and labor partners; Vice President Steven Acacio and others urged the department to present clear, digestible reporting on programs and metrics. Vice President Acacio suggested highlighting discrete sections of the EMS packet so commissioners and the public can more quickly identify items such as EMS, Healthy Streets operations and street-crisis teams.

The department said it plans multiple academies next year and a paramedic entry program so candidates with paramedic licenses can be hired directly into paramedic roles rather than entering initially as EMTs and later "bumping up." Nicholson said a paramedic class starts Nov. 29 with graduates expected in January and the department is coordinating with the controller’s office on a long-term hiring plan to avoid repeated midyear requests.

What the commission did: No formal vote was required on the budget request at this meeting; commissioners recorded support and requested follow-up detail. Commissioners also asked for clearer visuals in the monthly packet—specifically better labeling for charts of Narcan use and a glossary for acronyms used throughout the reports.

Next steps: The supplemental request was introduced to the Board of Supervisors; the Fire Department said it will return with further staffing and implementation details and produce clearer, sectioned reports for future meetings.