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new ambulance, Palmerdale Fire District, Jefferson County — Palmerdale ambulance (Palmerdale Fire District)

Thanks to an infusion of ARPA (American Rescue Plan of 2021) funds, Jefferson County has been able to invest almost $8 million in the county’s public safety infrastructure and training.

One immediate effect is dramatically reduced emergency response wait times, especially in underserved parts of the county like Birmingport and Fairfield. Keep reading for all the details.

Emergency response times in the county had reached a crisis point

policeman leaning on sports car's window — Photo by Matt C on Unsplash

“This was an emergency situation that demanded immediate attention, and the county happened to have funds available that were not allocated to other resources that we were able to immediately apply to this crisis.

I’m happy to say that we’re better today than we were this time last year, but we’re not there yet. We want to continue to apply those funds necessary to further shorten the response times. Lives are at stake.”
Jimmie Stephens, Jefferson County Commissioner

16 fire districts have received new equipment

To date, the county has spent almost $5M on 18 ambulances—complete with advanced life-saving equipment—for 16 departments.

There are currently 15 units in service.
Three more will be put into service in the coming months once they arrive.

According to Fire Chief Wade Holley, the new ambulance has had a tremendous impact on Birmingport:

“Before we got the new ambulance, we had to wait on average two to three hours for a patient who needed to be transported immediately to the hospital, but there weren’t any ambulances available.

Studies have shown that outcomes for trauma patients are a lot better if they receive definitive care within an hour. The ambulance makes sure we can get a patient to the hospital within that ‘golden hour’—especially if it’s a day when a helicopter won’t fly. That’s made a huge difference just in trauma cases.”
Chief Wade Holley, Fire Chief, Birmingport Fire Department

Get the full story on how Jefferson County has used American Rescue Plan funds over the past two years.

4 key locations have seen reduced emergency response times

Midfield Fire truck, ARPA funds, Jefferson County, emergency response times — Midfield Fire Department’s new unit, purchased with ARPA funds. (Jefferson County)

Having a working ambulance makes a significant difference when it comes to getting people the emergency medical care they need when they need it.

Bagley Fire:
- Where: About 30 minutes to the northwest of Birmingham + just to the southeast of Sumiton and Dora
- Before: This department relied solely on private ambulances.
- Impact: Although this department still uses private ambulances when they are available, they’ve been able to transport dozens of critical patients to Birmingham hospitals since their new ambulance arrived.

Birmingport:
- Where: 30 minutes west of Birmingham
- Before: In the past, it was common to wait more than eight hours for an ambulance, and over two hours for a private ambulance.
- Impact: With the arrival of their new ambulance, they’ve eliminated this wait for all critical patients. In addition, they’ve been able to assist neighboring departments with their transports.

Concord: This is the primary transport agency for seven departments on the western side.
- Where: 40 minutes southwest of Birmingham (the fire department a few miles outside of Bessemer city limits)
- Before: They had two ambulances that were out of service a large amount of the time due to mechanical failures.
- Impact: Both units have been replaced with working ambulances that are serving the citizens in this area of the county.

Fairfield: This is one of the big success stories of the project.
- Where: 15 minutes west of Birmingham
- Before: Multi-hour wait times were common.
- Impact: Their new ambulance means they are often running two transport units—leading to greatly improved patient care for the citizens of Fairfield.

In addition to these locations, Hoover, McAdory, McCalla, Midfield, Rex Lake, Rocky Ridge and Vestavia Hills have received their units.

Center Point and Concord have received two units, while Palmerdale has been delivered one and is awaiting a second.

Leeds and Warrior will be receiving their trucks soon.

“People are noticing the new vehicles anywhere from Hoover to Concord to Bagley. They appreciate that their county can do that and that they can see their tax dollars are being spent wisely. it really means a lot to be able to give back to the community.”
Jimmie Stephens, Jeffferson County Commissioner

We first wrote about how Jefferson County granted $4M in new equipment to rural EMS back in May 2023.