The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency is responsible for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the EMS system established to provide prehospital services. Utilizing input from system participants and consumer advocates, planning efforts are directed toward maintaining a system which balances the unique skills and interests of participating organizations to achieve and maintain a coordinated system of emergency medical care available to all consumers within Marin County.
History of EMS in Marin County
EMS was first provided to residents of Marin in 1965 by the Marin County Fire Department, when a Cadillac ambulance was stationed in Point Reyes. The community of Point Reyes provided the funding this first ambulance and its equipment and the American Red Cross trained personnel assigned to the ambulance in advanced first aid.
In 1977, a group of Marin County firefighters were sent to Stanford University for paramedic training and in 1978 the first paramedic rescue training ambulance in Marin County went into service in Point Reyes. An “emergency room on wheels” this ambulance brought advanced life support services to West Marin.
In 1985, in response to a request by the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority, Marin County Fire Department assumed administration and staffing of paramedic units stationed at the Ross Fire Stations providing paramedic services to residents and visitors within the communities of Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo, Sleepy Hollow, and Fairfax.
Following the founding of our EMS team in 1985, we have continued to build a comprehensive and countywide system of emergency medical services. With ALS transport ambulances and fully trained paramedics, we also cover the County's more outlying areas of Tomales and Stinson Beach.