Madison Fire Department leaders hope to add a 10th ambulance and nine paramedic staff members next year at an annual cost of $1 million to address an increase in 911 calls.
It’s too soon to say where the ambulance will be assigned, but Fire Chief Chris Carbon should have firmer updates by mid-next year, said Cynthia Schuster, the department’s public information officer.
In the agency’s proposal for next year’s operating budget, Carbon anticipated it would cost $76 million to continue Fire Department services at their current levels. Most of that accounts for salaries and benefits for emergency and medical staff, but there’s also a supplemental request for the city to chip in $250,000 for a 10th ambulance and the nine-member crew to start funding the service in the last three months of the year, according to city budget documents…