Toronto Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Toronto Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is the statutory Emergency medical services provider for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The service is operated directly as a branch of the municipal government as an independent, third-service option provider, which means that the service is funded by the municipal tax base, and operates in much the same manner as any other municipal department, such as the police or fire department, or in some cases like a public utility, but retains its complete independence from all other departments. While under municipal government control, it is required to comply with legislation and licensing standards provided by the Ontario provincial government. It is not the only service provider in its area; private-for-profit medical transport services also provide routine, non-emergency transports and coverage for special events, but the statutory EMS system is the only provider permitted to service emergency calls.

there are 242 vehicles in the Toronto EMS fleet, 150 are KKK-1822 Standard Type III ambulances. Of these, approximately 100 are in service at any time on a typical, mid-week, day shift. The rest of the fleet are support vehicles (mainly buses and trucks) supervisory vehicles, and single paramedic response vehicles. Toronto EMS operates its own repair facilities, located at the service's Headquarters complex. All maintenance and repair work (with the exception of body work), and all equipment, radio, and medical electronics maintenance and repairs are performed on site by service staff

Toronto EMS operates its own Communications and System Control Centre (called a Central Ambulance Communications Center), including emergency medical dispatch, patient distribution and system oversight. Toronto EMS participates in the community-wide 9-1-1 system, and triages emergency calls using the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System. The system uses Computer-Aided Dispatch, including Tritech VisiCAD, augmented by PDS and Siren software and technology. The service utilizes a satellite-based Automatic Vehicle Locating system in order to ensure that the closest appropriate response resource is consistently sent to each emergency call; all emergency response resources are included. The service utilizes a 800mhz Smartzone trunking radio system for dispatch purposes. The Control Centre has direct landline contact with the 9-1-1 Center, all other emergency services, all acute care hospitals, and all EMS Stations.

The service utilizes “Language Line” service to provide instant simultaneous translation of emergency calls in more than 140 languages. Toronto EMS operates the largest EMS Communications Centre in Canada, which was recently accredited as an International Centre of Excellence by the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch.

Toronto EMS operates a total of 41 dedicated EMS stations, geographically distributed across the 246 square miles of the City of Toronto. Emergency service headquarters (which is shared with Toronto Fire Services, but both services operate independently) is located at 4330 Dufferin Street in Toronto. This facility includes administrative offices, some education facilities, the EMS Communications Centre, Fleet Maintenance, Planning and Operational Support, and Materials Management/Logistics. The service is supplemented by well-developed EMS systems in neighbouring communities on three sides, with Lake Ontario providing the southern boundary of the service area. Air ambulance operations are provided within the City of Toronto by Ornge, a privately owned air ambulance contractor, under contract to the Government of Ontario.

In addition to regular operations, Toronto EMS staffs a Special Operations Unit, tasked with the provision of EMS services in unusual circumstances. The elements of this unit include, Tactical Paramedics - Cross-trained paramedics providing medical support to the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force. Marine Paramedics - Cross-trained paramedics staffing the patrol vessels of the Toronto Police Marine Unit, in order to provide support for Toronto Police personnel, EMS services on the waters of Lake Ontario, and EMS service to the Toronto Islands. HUSAR - Specially-trained Toronto EMS paramedics operate together with elements of the Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Police Service to provide a joint-service Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team. CBRN Paramedics (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear) - Specially-trained Toronto EMS paramedics operate together with elements of the Toronto Police Service and Toronto Fire Services to provide a joint-service Hazardous Materials Response team. Public Safety Unit - Cross-trained paramedics providing medical support to the Toronto Police Riot Squad. Emergency Response Unit - Single paramedics in rapid response vehicles, tasked solely with response to high priority emergency calls. Bicycle Unit - Paramedics equipped with mountain bikes, capable of providing services in off road areas, or at special events