This is my last column as Director-at-Large for the Section. I now will have the honor of serving the membership as the Vice-Chairman of the Section. I have had the privilege of writing this column, usually twice a month, for almost five years - this one being the 88thcolumn. As I move up to my new position, I would like to reflect on what this opportunity has meant to me as well as what this column may have accomplished over the last five years.

When I took over this awesome responsibility after Fred Thorp retired, I was overwhelmed with the task in front of me. However, I set out with some clear goals of what I thought the column should be accomplishing. One intention I had was not to make this column the voice of Gary Ludwig - but the voice of what I heard many of you in the fire service saying. One of those things I heard you saying is the issue of fire service EMS had to be promoted as the best delivery model available to the citizens we serve. In order to do this, I had to sometimes be controversial. Why? Because I felt if the fire service were to move forward in the area of EMS, the issues had to put on the table to be discussed, debated, and ultimately decided.

Five years ago, having EMS in the fire service was not fully accepted or fashionable. Although I feel we can still improve on the integration of EMS into the fire service, we have made great strides toward making EMS in the fire service a common and accepted theme today. More and more departments are embracing this concept everyday or reexamining the way they provide EMS to their community. I hope the information I provided played some role in that transformation.

Five years ago, the ambulance consolidators were on the march. Large conglomerates such as American Medical Response, Medtrans, LifeFleet, Careline, and Rural/Metro were gobbling up the small "mom and pop" ambulance companies in record numbers while promoting the concept of public/private cooperatives. Many communities bought into this ideology and many have since reversed. Five years later, the march of the consolidators has turned into a shuffle as they scramble to get on their financial and operational feet while more and more communities are embracing fire-based EMS models. Again, I would hope the information I provided played some role in that process.

But wait a minute Gary - why should the fire service be worried about the "consolidators?" Please understand this, without question providing EMS is very competitive. There are billions of reimbursement dollars sitting on the table for those who provide EMS transport. As the largest provider of emergency medical care, the fire service has the greatest "market share" of those dollars. A study done several years ago by an independent trade journal showed 45.3 percent of all transporting EMS agencies in the United States was the fire service. The closest any category came to the fire service was non-fire service volunteer EMS transport agencies at 17 percent. What we saw developing was large for- profit conglomerates aggressively pursuing that "market share." Most of that "market share" was in large populated areas. And who mostly provides EMS transport in large populated areas? The fire service! Fortunately, in many places the fire service has stepped up to the challenge.

The impact of this column was more than I ever imagined. A survey of those reading the "On Scene" showed it was the first thing read right after everybody scanned the classifieds. I have been truly amazed with the number of chiefs who tell me that they would copy the column and either send it to all their employees, to the firefighters, city officials, or distribute it at staff meetings. As a result of this popularity, this column could be found on countless web sites, hung up on bulletin boards, redistributed by e-mail across the internet multiple times, reprinted in fire service publications, reprinted in union newspapers, and even read weekly on several radio stations which carried public safety news. To me, this has been most humbling.

Whenever I wrote the column, I had some basic rules I followed. I never, I repeat, never portrayed the fire service or anybody in the fire service in a disparaging light. Instead my goal was to depict the fire service and those who serve within it in most favorably - as well they should be.

Contrary to popular misconception, I never wrote anything castigating against a private ambulance service that was not a consolidator. Many small "mom and pop" ambulance companies found themselves in the same boat as some 35 man fire department - fighting a large consolidator who had the resources and money to overwhelm and destroy them. Over the years, I got plenty of phone calls or e-mails from owners of private ambulance firms looking for help. I gladly helped many of them.

Did I make some people who are not in the fire service angry? Without question! Did I make some fire chiefs upset? Yes - three that I am aware of - probably more. Ironically, there was a common theme among those who were upset or mad about something I wrote - they did not have the fire service as their first priority with whatever the issue was. Instead I got the impression they had their own, somebody else, or some corporation's agenda first. I always found it amusing that some people honestly thought I should be an extension of a marketing department for an ambulance consolidator. I saw my job as keeping the IAFC membership informed on EMS issues while promoting the concept of fire-based EMS models.

Did I get some physical threats? Yes! Most were silly anonymous threats but I was tipped off on one serious plot which was addressed. One question I was repeatedly asked - Gary, how do you get so much information? My answer - thankfully, I had an extensive network already in place prior to assuming the column. That network expanded exponentially as the column grew in popularity. It was not uncommon for me to get 3 - 5 phone calls and around 25 e-mails each day from around the country. Did I have some snitches? Absolutely! That is how I was able to expose the Foresight Document - in which many leaders of the private ambulance industry planned to conduct a secret smear campaign against the good name of the fire service. Additionally, everything I wrote, I had documentation supporting it.

Some satisfaction I got from writing this column comes from the many chiefs who have told me that they have used my column(s) to argue their points in front of the mayor, city manager, or the city council. Many of these chief's city officials had no knowledge or scope of many of the problems which face fire departments who provide EMS. Many of these officials thought their problems were local and could be fixed. Again, I am humbled that many chiefs chose to use my column to deliver their message to their elected officials.

Another member of the EMS Section will now be taking over the column. Dave Huisenga, the EMS Chief with the St. Paul (Minnesota) Fire Department now steps into this role. I will be helping Dave with the transition by feeding him information I get, until he gets on his feet.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for their support. I received much support from the two chairmans I served under, Chief Marybeth Michos and Chief Jack Krakeel. I would like to thank my boss, Fire Commissioner Neil Svetanics who sometimes found himself defending me when some of those few who opposed what I said tried to use him to control me. Finally, I would like to thank all the members of the EMS Section and the many members of the IAFC who continually gave me words of encouragement either in person, or through phone calls, e-mails, or letters. I truly feel honored and privileged that I was elected by the membership four times to write this column almost five years ago. This experience has been most humbling and fulfilling. I will try to live up to those same standards as your new Vice-Chairman.