Sec.19a-179-11. Availability of response services

Each basic ambulance service and mobile intensive care service shall be prepared to respond to calls for emergency services originated from an EMS dispatch center for its primary service area on a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, basis, or arrange with other certified or licensed response services to offer coverage for its PSA during nonoperational hours with no reduction in level of service. If such arrangement with other services is necessary, a copy of a written agreement between the services to that effect shall be enclosed in the response service's application, described in Sec. 19a-179-5 of these regulations. The following requirements shall be followed in carrying out the requirement set forth above:

(a) If a service has only one ambulance in operation or only one crew available to respond to calls, and the service is the only service within a municipality, that ambulance and crew shall be reserved for emergency calls within the service's PSA, or for calls for mutual aid.

(b) If a service has only one ambulance in operation but there are other licensed or certified services based within the municipality, the service may use its only ambulance for rendering service other than emergencies only if the service first determines that there is an ambulance and crew available from the other service within the municipality to respond to emergencies.

(c) If a service has only one ambulance in operation but there is a written mutual aid agreement in effect for basic ambulance coverage from an adjacent PSA service and there is a designated first responder service in the municipality, the service may make its only vehicle available for rendering service other than emergencies.

(d) Each response service shall maintain contact with the dispatch center concerning the location and availability of system vehicles.

(Effective June 14, 1988)