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1. Who owns EMSA?

EMSA is an independent trust authority, an extension of the City of Tulsa and Oklahoma City governments. EMSA contracts with a private ambulance service to provide emergency medical care and dispatching.

2. How many ambulances does EMSA own?

EMSA owns and operates 66 ambulances (36 in Western Division, 30 in Eastern Division).

3. Why do I see EMSA ambulances parked at several locations around town?

EMSA uses system status management to position ambulances at strategic locations to better respond to emergencies. That ambulance parked at a location such as a convenience store in the morning is not the same ambulance you may see there later in the day. Units respond to emergencies and are rotated to new posts continuously throughout the day and night.

4. What is the most common type of medical emergency?

Emergencies range in type and severity and can happen to anyone. EMSA responds to many breathing and cardiac problem calls, motor vehicle collisions and other trauma calls, and much more.

5. How fast is EMSA required to respond?

In Tulsa and the western division, EMSA is require to respond to 90 percent of life-threatening emergencies within 8 minutes and 59 seconds. The response time requirement is 11 minutes and 59 seconds in Bixby, Jenks and Sand Springs. EMSA must respond to non-life threatening emergencies within 12 minutes, 59 seconds. EMSA's average response time is actually less than 6 minutes.

6. When I call for an ambulance, why does the fire department come too?

Firefighters serve as medical first responders on most emergency calls in the EMSA service area. They extricate patients from vehicle collisions and burning buildings, manage hazardous materials and assist EMSA paramedics in patient assessment and stabilization. Though not dedicated healthcare providers, firefighters provide valuable assistance to EMSA paramedics - particularly in the first few minutes of an emergency.

7. How does EMSA set its rates?

EMSA's rates for emergency and non-emergency transports are set by the EMSA Board of Trustees and approved by the City Councils of Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

8. How much does it cost to ride in an ambulance

The charge for an emergency transport in the Tulsa area is $1,100-plus mileage. Non-emergency transport charges begin at $315-plus mileage. In the Oklahoma City area, the emergency transport rate is $719-plus mileage; non-emergency is $393-plus mileage.

9. What is TotalCare?

TotalCare is an ambulance subscription program that controls out-of-pocket expenses for EMSA ambulance service. TotalCare members never pay out-of-pocket expenses for EMSA emergency ambulance service; some benefits are also available for non-emergency transfers. TotalCare costs $60 for new members and $50 for renewals and it covers immediate family members. For applicants without health insurance, the annual subscription free is $75.

10. How many miles does an EMSA ambulance drive in a year?

The average EMSA ambulance covers more than 50,000 miles each year. EMSA's ambulances combine to travel approximately 3 million miles each year.

11. How much does an ambulance cost?

A new ambulance costs more than $100,000. Fully stocked, an ambulance can cost up to $150,000.

12. . What should I do when I see an ambulance driving with its emergency lights activated?

According to Oklahoma law, when an emergency vehicle activates its lights and sirens ("running hot," in insiders' terminology), drivers are to yield by pulling to the right and stopping until the emergency vehicle passes. The emergency unit is then able to run hot unimpeded in the left lane. All traffic is to yield, regardless of the ambulance's direction of travel. The only exception is if you are on a highway divided by a median and see an ambulance coming from the opposite direction.