Fort Smith EMS’ History.
Fort Smith Emergency Medical Services was incorporated on December 27th, 1978 to deliver quality, professional pre-hospital care to the city of Fort Smith. The service initially served the cities of Fort Smith and Van Buren with two basic life support ambulances. Today, Fort Smith EMS provides exclusive paramedic services to the city of Fort Smith and 911 service to the city of Barling with eight advanced life support ambulances. Fort Smith EMS employees 65 personnel with a primary service area of 65 square miles and 84,632 people. In 2009, Fort Smith EMS responded to more than 11,000 calls for emergency assistance.
In 2009, Fort Smith EMS realized that providing “Best in Class” ambulance service was more than just providing a paramedic staffed ambulance for medical emergencies. The service undertook an aggressive service improvement project that would truly provide best in class service, which inevitably led to a “community first” philosophy.