Committee: Emergency Medical Services

Contact: Matthew Simpson, Chair – [email protected]

2023 Mission: The mission of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Committee is to act in an advisory capacity. They make recommendations for review and action by the President and Board of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association (MSFCA) regarding EMS operations, education, Minnesota State Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board (EMSRB), other regulatory requirements, and future administrative direction of emergency medical services within the fire service of Minnesota.

2023 Report: 
The MSFCA EMS committee meets quarterly. We discuss the fire service's current practices, focus, and future direction related to involvement with EMS delivery. The fire service has significant opportunities to direct, develop, and guide changes in pre-hospital care. With increasing service demands, staffing challenges, and the ever-changing service model responsibilities accompanying EMS delivery, we continue offering thoughtful, solution-based involvement from the fire service. We strive to provide nothing short of the best care and response to our community residents.

The committee meetings are held at various fire departments and online to involve as many committee members as possible. Our committee’s objectives are simple. We act in an advisory capacity and make recommendations for review and action by the President and Board of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association regarding EMS in the fire service. We do not change topics that are commonly discussed within the meetings.

Instead, we take the lessons learned from the events locally and worldwide to provide opportunities to adapt to the best practices by dealing with the ever-evolving scenarios within public safety.

Finally, as a committee, we will continue to watch, discuss, and present on previously mentioned items, such as EMS law. We will also identify the best practice opportunities that are important to our service delivery models. We will continue to vigorously oppose what threatens to disrupt our service delivery to the communities we are responsible for protecting. We will continue to advocate for providing EMS services and excellent patient care.

2023 Emergency Medical Services Committee Members Chair:

• Greg Peterson, Fire Chief, White Bear Lake

• Aaron Burnett, Regions EMS

• Neal Dwyer, Assistant Chief, Burnsville

• Scott Fredrickson, Fire Chief, Virginia

• Erik Jankila, Fire Chief, Hibbing

• BJ Jungmann, Fire Chief, Burnsville

• Steve Koering, Fire Chief, St. Louis Park

• Amber Lage, Deputy Chief, Minneapolis

• Buck McAlpin, MN Ambulance Association

• Mike Mondor, Fire Chief, Maplewood

• Ryan Quinn, EMS Chief, Edina

• Steve Sampson, St. Paul

• Christopher Schuh, Captain, Kasson

EMS Committee File Library