First run smooth for ambulance crew

Salt Lake City's new ambulance service officially turned on its lights and sirens Monday.

Southwest Ambulance went on duty at midnight Sunday. The company's first call came just 12 minutes later in the early hours of Monday when a woman was injured in a hit-and-run traffic accident near 1800 S. West Temple. She had to be taken to the hospital.

"Everything went smooth as silk and just the way you hoped it would," said EMT Dec Hogan, who was with the crew that responded to the inaugural call. "We were about as prepared as prepared could be."

The crew officially started its shift at 8:30 a.m. Sunday in preparation for answering calls.

"We had a lot of things to do . . . a lot of last minute things like check the ambulances, put (work) stations together and that kind of thing," Hogan said. "We were excited. We double and triple checked the ambulances."

EMT crews then went around the city to introduce themselves at as many Salt Lake City Fire Stations as they could.

At 11 p.m. Sunday the EMTs got their first radio check from dispatch.

"That was exciting in itself," Hogan said.

At midnight dispatch gave them a second radio check and less than 15 minutes later, sent Southwest One to its first call.

"It put a big smile on our faces, then we got into serious mode and it was all business," he said.

Southwest took over ambulance service from Gold Cross, which had been servicing Salt Lake City for more than 30 years. Gold Cross will continue to provide ambulance service to other parts of the county.

A judge last month cleared the way for Southwest to take over ambulance service after he ruled in favor of the Arizona-based company in a lawsuit. Gold Cross sued when the contract was awarded to Southwest, saying it was a decision that needed to come before the Salt Lake City Council and not just the mayor's office, which is in charge of contracts.

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