The real answer is give EMS, EMTs and Paramedics More Money so they stay. Also, more money will attract more people to join FDNY EMS. What is needed is more ambulances both BLS and ALS. A fly car that can't transport patients is not the answer. The idea sending FDNY Ladder companies will not fix the problem of delayed EMS responses. Do people trapped in a fire want to wait to be rescued because the Ladder Company or Engine Company, for that matter, because the 1st due Engine or Ladder is on an EMS run? FD unit should only respond to certain very critical EMS incidents, such as Major Trama, actual Cardiac Arrests, and incidents involving entrapment, collapses and serious M.V.A.s. The EMS dispatchers can be utilized to identify only those incidents where FD response is truly needed. This will mean changes in both policy and laws to improve the situation.
In addition to the FDNY I also worked as a Paramedic for a short time. Captain Bob Rainey FDNT Engine 26 retired.