Working Side by Side with Berkeley Fire

Six months into our shared mission, a dedicated Royal BLS unit is helping keep Berkeley’s emergency response system moving while building strong ties with the crews we serve alongside. In these shared months, our BLS EMT team has continued strengthening collaboration with Berkeley Fire, supporting smoother emergency responses across the city.

Half a year ago, we placed a Royal unit inside Berkeley’s 911 system. Not as visitors. Not as an outside resource called in only when the need grows. As part of the emergency response system. By integrating directly into Berkeley’s 911 operations, our BLS ambulance team enhances overall system readiness and contributes to a more coordinated emergency response structure.

If you live in Berkeley, you already know this part. The Fire Department runs its own ambulances and transports at the paramedic level. Engines and medic units roll from the same department and answer medical calls all day. It is a strong model that serves a busy city. This unified approach helps Berkeley maintain rapid response times, especially vital in a city with consistently high call volume and diverse medical emergencies.

Our place in the system is clear. A Basic Life Support ambulance with two EMTs focused on psychiatric transports. Often, that means 5150 holds to facilities like John George Psychiatric Hospital. We move within the same dispatch flow as every other resource, responding the moment the call comes in. Providing safe and efficient psychiatric transport ensures that higher-level ALS resources stay available for time-critical emergencies like cardiac events or trauma calls.

Why build a unit like this? Because psychiatric calls take time. Scenes require care and calm. When our crew handles these transports, Berkeley Fire’s engines and ALS ambulances get back in service faster. That gives the city more capacity for strokes, cardiac arrests, and fires. It is a way to return valuable minutes to the system so they can be spent where they matter most. This targeted BLS support model ultimately strengthens Berkeley’s emergency response reliability, allowing EMS teams to allocate resources in the most effective way possible.

We have a history with Berkeley Fire through workforce pathways like our Career Bridge Program. This partnership builds on that connection. It is a way for us to contribute in a role that matters and a way for them to focus where they are needed most. Programs like Career Bridge help create long-term workforce development pipelines, reinforcing a shared commitment to training, readiness, and community-focused emergency care.

In these first six months, our job has been clear. Be ready when the call comes. Move quickly. Make sure the right patient reaches the right level of care. Keep the system moving by playing our part well. Success is not measured in how many transports we complete but in whether the system stays fluid, engines stay available, and patients get timely care. This performance standard supports the broader EMS mission: reducing response times, improving patient outcomes, and ensuring the city’s emergency network remains stable during peaks in call volume.

We stage, we load, we move. Fire returns to service, and the patient reaches the right door without drama. And for me, it is exciting to work side by side with the fire department, to be part of that response, and to see how the system comes together, says - EMT Matt L. 

Our team is grateful for the chance to partner with Berkeley Fire, says Hasieb Lemar, our president. This work helps the system, it helps our EMTs grow in a high-standard environment, and it helps us learn from a department we admire. We are proud of the early impact and eager to keep listening and improving together. Working within such a well-regarded fire department provides continuous training opportunities, improving the overall quality of care delivered across the emergency response chain.

If you lead a public agency or a hospital, this is the heart of the idea. Match the right resource to the right patient every time. Keep governance and accountability local. Use the existing dispatch fabric so nothing feels bolted on. And make sure partnerships like this leave the system stronger than it was before. This model is replicable for other cities seeking to improve emergency system efficiency, particularly where psychiatric transport demand strains frontline fire and EMS units.

We are six months in. We feel welcomed by our partners, and we are learning fast. The focus stays narrow, psychiatric transports are done quickly, safely, and with respect for everyone involved. The goal stays broad, a city where the next call gets the right response without delay. As demand for psychiatric transport continues to rise, strengthening BLS support will remain vital to maintaining a responsive, resilient, and community-centered EMS system.