Mr. Dennis Keeley:

I would contend that in the absence of sending the fire tender, the patient will be compromised because there will be no paramedic or medical assistance en route. If a clinical diagnosis is made and the patient has been transferred to hospital but there is no ambulance, every delay is likely to have an adverse outcome. Having said that, a large number of paramedics will nonetheless arrive and each fire tender has lifesaving equipment on board. I would have to take each case on its own merit. The ideal circumstance is that an ambulance would arrive-----