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Home My WebLink About1983-013AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE OPERATION OF EMERGENCY AMBULANCES AND TRANSFER AMBULANCES IN THE CITY OF DENTON, VEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 26 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING THERETO A NEW ARTICLE V REGULATING EMERGENCY AMBULANCES AND TRANSFER AMBU- LANCES, REGULATING ATTENDANTS AND DRIVERS OF AMBULANCES, AND DFCLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HERLBY ORDAINS SECTION I Chapter 26 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas is hereby amended by adding thereto a new Article V read- ing as follows ARTICLE V AMBULANCES Section 26-65 Definitions Section 26-66 Emergency Service by Fire Department Section 26-67 Private Emergency Service Regulations Section 26-68 Transfer Ambulance Service Regulations Section 26-69 Attendant/Drivers Regulated Section 26-70 False Statement of Emergency Section 25-65 DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section (a) ATTENDANT/DRIVER means a person who is qualified to care for a patient transported by a transfer ambulance and who is also qualified to drive a transfer ambulance (b) CHIEF OF POLICE means the chief of police of the City of Denton or his duly authorized representative (c) CITY means the City of Denton, Texas (d) DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this article or the director's authorized representative (e) EMERGENCY means any circumstances that calls for imme- diate action and in which the element of time in transporting the sick, wounded or injured for medical treatment is essential PAGE 1 to the health or life of the person Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, accidents generally, traffic accidents, and acts of violence resulting in personal injury, and sudden illness (f) EMERGENCY AMBULANCE means any motor vehicle especially designed, constructed, equipped, and used for transporting the injured or sick in answer to an emergency call (g) EMERGENCY CALL means any request for ambulance service that is made by telephone or other means of communication in circumstances which are, or have been represented to be, an emergency and requiring immediate ambulance service (h) EMERGENCY RUN means the emergency ambulance trip to the place where the emergency exists, or from the place of such emergency to a hospital, medical clinic, or other appropriate destination for the patient (1) FIRE DEPARTMENT means the fire department of the City of Denton (j) OPERATOR means any inaividual, firm or corporation engaged in the business of transporting the injurea, woundea, sick or dead and using the streets of the city for such purpose (k) STREET means any street, alley, avenue, boulevard, drive or highway commonly used for the nurpose of travel within the corporate limits of the city (1) 11RANSFER AMBULANCE means any motor vehicle constructed, equipped and used for transferring the injured or sick under circumstances which do not constitute an emergency ano which have not been represented as an emergency Section 26-66 EMERGENCY SRVICh PROVIDED LY FIRE DEPARTMENI, FEE (a) The fire department of the city shall provide emergency ambulance service within the city (b) The city shall charge the following fees for emergency ambulance services in the city provided in response to a call PAGE 2 received by the fire department requesting the services 1 $70 00 per person for the transport of a person from any location to a hospital, and 2 In addition to the above, $1 00 per mile per person shall be charged for the one way distance traveled beyond the jurisdictional limits of the County of Denton for the transport to or from a location outside the County of Denton (c) The person receiving emergency ambulance service ano any person contracting for the service shall be responsible for payment of the fee In the case of service received by a minor, the parent or guardian of the minor shall be responsible for payment of the fee Section 26-67 PRIVATE EMERGENCY SERVICE REGULATIONS (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, either as owner, agent, or otherwise, other than a member of the fire department, an agency of the United States or the State of Texas, to furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise or otherwise be engaged in or profess to be engaged in the operation of emergency ambulance service, upon the streets, alleys, or any public way or place within the city, for the purpose of picking up patients within the city, except in the following circumstances 1 It shall not be unlawful for a person operating a transfer ambulance in the city, upon responding to a direct call for nonemergency transfer ambulance service, to operate such ambulance under emergency conditions, using emergency equipment, after notifying the fire alarm dispatcher and requesting permission to make an emergency run, when a deter- mination is made by the transfer ambulance attendant that an emergency exists requiring the sick or injured person to be transported with all practical speed to a hospital 2 It shall not be unlawful for any person operating a transfer ambulance in the city, who is performing the service of maintaining an ambulance at a particular location for a sporting event, to operate such ambulance under emergency conditions, using emergency equipment, after notifying the fire alarm dispatcher and requesting permission to make an emergency run, when a determination is made by the transfer ambulance attendant that an emergency exists requiring the sick or injured person to be transported with all practical speed to a hospital PAGE 3 3 It shall not be unlawful for any person to operate an emergency ambulance to a hospital within the city, if the place of emergency at which the sick or injured person was pickeo up by such ambulance is outside the city limits and the ambulance making the emergency run is licensed and operated in accordance with Article 459b, V T C S provided, that the operator first notifies the fire alarm dispatcher of the route over which the emergency run will be made 4 It shall not be unlawful for any person to operate a transfer ambulance in the city on an emergency run when fire department ambulances are not avail- able, and the fire alarm dispatcher requests the operator to furnish back-up emergency ambulance service for the fire department (b) Any person operating a transfer ambulance in the city who makes an emergency run under the provisions of subparagraph (1) or (2) above, shall within ten (10) days of each such emergency run, submit to the director of public health, a report on a form provided by him, which shall describe the circum- stances requiring the emergency run Section 26-68 TRANSFER AMBULANCE REGULATIONS (a) No person shall operate or cause to be operated for patient pickup in the city any transfer ambulance without first having complied with the following requirements 1 Each vehicle shall be supplied with a first aid kit and emergency equipment required by the Texas Department of Public Health and approved by the local trauma committee of the American College of Surgeons 2 Each vehicle must be accompanied by two attendant/drivers who are currently certified by the State of Texas as emergency care attendants or emergency medical technicians 3 Safety mechanisms of the vehicle must be operative and in good repair, including but not limited to headlights, taillights, turn signals, brakes, brakelights, emergency lights, windshield wipers, wiper blades, handles opening doors and windows, tires and spare tire (b) No person shall operate or permit the operation of a transfer ambulance on any emergency run or in response to any emergency call nor with the use of emergency lights ano siren, unless requested to do so by the fire alarm dispatcher in case of a major catastrophe PAVE 4 Section 26-69 ATTENDANT/DRIVLR'S REGULATIONS (a) No person shall drive a transfer ambulance or act as an attendant of a transfer ambulance without first having complied with the following requirements 1 Each driver or attendant shall currently hold a valid Texas chauffeur's license 2 Each attendant shall currently be registered by the State of Texas as an emergency care attendant or emergency medical technician 3 No driver or attendant shall have a record of final conviction of a felony or a crime involving use or possession of narcotics or operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or intoxicating liquor or driving while license has been suspended within the five year period immediately preceding him or her employment Section 26-70 FALSE STATEMENT OE EMERGENCY It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully inform the fire alarm dispatcher, police dispatcher or other fire or police official that an ambulance or more than one ambulance is needed at a location or address when such person knows that such statement is false SECTION II This ordinance shall become effective from and after its date of passage PASSED AND APPROVED this the day of , 1983 ^; ' it�d CITDENTON, ZEXAS ATTEST /� (l(✓/�b �l/12� 101- CHARLOTTEALLEN, CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM C J TAYLOR, JR , CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS PAGE 5