EMS

The mission of the South Padre Island Fire Department's Emergency Medical Service is to reduce the amount of pain and suffering of the citizens and guests of our city by providing the highest level of quality pre-hospital emergency care possible.

We currently have 4 ALS Units which respond 24 hours a day to serve the City of SPI. The EMTs and Paramedics of the South Padre Island Fire Dept. are some of the most highly trained in the country. They maintain certification in Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. Many of our personnel are Hazardous Materials Technicians and Rescue Divers. We follow the American Heart Association guidelines for Cardiac Resuscitation and update our personnel training as new guidelines are published.

Medical Direction is provided by Dr. Richard Ybarra. 

In 2019, we responded to 1,901 EMS calls for service. Patients are transported to one of the many hospitals on the mainland for continued care. Our average EMS response time to any location in the City of South Padre Island is less than four minutes.