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Bristol Virginia Fire Department news
Burn Permit Issued
Burn Permit Issued for new school project beside Van Pelt. The permit runs for 30 days (6-15-22 to 7-15-22).
The open burning meets all requirements within the City Code Sec 50-645. Burning will be dependent upon weather and burn piles will be kept small and be within the marked off area that meets the distance requirement in the city code. The materials to be burnt will consist of tree brush and stumps that must be cleared for the construction of the new school.
The closest building is Fire Station 3 at 500 feet of distance from burn area. No home or occupied structure are within 500 feet to limit the possibility of hot ash reaching any occupied structure. Burning will occur during work periods during the daytime hours when workers and equipment are on site.
Burning will be monitored by the fire department so that the burning occurs when conditions reduce the chance of smoke to hang low in one area or winds push the smoke or debris in a certain direction.
The first burn occurred on June 15, 2022 and was monitored with observation of a smell of burning in some neighborhoods and small ash particles in the area near the school.
Burning will occur during the day with a similar high ceiling and low wind and will hopefully be completed within the next 3 weeks.
With a predicted weather pattern to be similar through Friday June 17 expect some burning to occur on Thursday June 16 and Friday June 17.
Bristol Virginia Fire Department Transporting Patients as of August 13, 2018.
Station 1 is home to the Department’s new ambulance, a 2009 Horton International Dura Star Type I Medium Duty ALS ambulance. Our Department is proud to provide this additional level of service and improved response times to the citizens of Bristol, Virginia.
Bristol Fire Department Charges for EMS Calls and Non-Transports
The Bristol, VA Fire Department implemented a new ambulance service a few years ago to help manage the increase in 911 emergency medical service (EMS) calls within the City. The ambulance is staffed with crossed-trained Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). Some of the EMTs are qualified at the Advanced Life Support level (ALS). This allows them to provide a higher level of medical care in the field before a patient reaches the hospital. An ALS level EMT may assess cardiac rhythms, start an IV, administer life-saving medications and perform many other critical skills to a sick or injured patient.
While on an EMS call or at the hospital, the EMTs will request a patient’s insurance information. Upon completion of the EMS call, the EMTs will document the incident and describe any medical treatment provided. The report is then submitted to a billing company which will review the incident report and determine what can be billed to the patient’s insurance. EMS transport fees can vary from $500 up to $1,000. A mileage fee of $14 per mile is also added to the bill.
If a patient calls 911 for an ambulance and then decides they do not want to be transported to the hospital, a bill will be sent directly to the patient and not their insurance company. Even if a citizen elects not to be transported, there is still an expense incurred for the response of the ambulance and crew. A non-transport service charge of $75 or $150 will be billed directly to the patient. The difference in the service charge is dependent on whether of not any medical care was provided.
The Fire Department responds to approximately 3,000 EMS calls each year. Charging EMS fees helps offset the cost of providing EMS services to residents and visitors. While local taxes provide the majority of operational funding, ambulance fees collected from insurance companies pay a significant amount towards medical supplies, equipment, annual EMS training and certification.
Our ambulance only transports to the nearest hospital which is Bristol Regional Medical Center. Some patients may request to be transported to a hospital further away in Abingdon or Johnson City. We will advise our patients that if they are having an emergency that requires an ambulance, then we will only transport them to the closest hospital so that there is no delay in them getting emergency care.