While scrolling though Detroit-centric posts out in the mad world of the blogosphere, I came across this piece on emergency medical services in Detroit. Having a close friend who is a firefighter, I had already gotten wind of Detroit’s dire EMS situation but had not done any legwork on the story.

I’m glad somebody did. 

A blogger for DetroitSpeaks.com recounted the same information I’d heard from my friend about the problems EMS responders face while working in Detroit.

They noted that Detroit has 20 EMS vehicles serving the city, covering an area of 143 square miles and a population of 916,952 people according to the last census data. And we wonder at the pathetic response times in the city. But there’s more. According to this article, EMS are required to respond to other non-emergency situations:

What kind of calls do EMS have to make runs on?

Believe it or not, the calls they have to make runs on will shock you. Reports are that maybe 35-50% of the calls that come into 911 need Detroit EMS. The other calls are non-life threatening. There are many who abuse the 911 system for personal use. Examples such as ‘I ran out of medicine and didnt have a ride to the hospital’, ‘I have a headache and I couldn’t get a cab so I called 911’ …”

Anyway, since it’s mayoral election season and all, this is a perfect chance to find out where the mayoral candidates stand on EMS services. I’ll be asking Bing’s and Cockrel’s people if they have any plans to address this situation.