Temagami Ambulance Base is located at 7 Stevens Road. It is staffed 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fully trained paramedics are on call 24 hours-a-day, 365 days of the year.
Ed Riopel
Phone: 705-569-3258
Staff Line
705-569-3210
Fax: 705-569-2557
Temagami instituted 9-1-1 emergency phone service in 2004 and since then all permanent structures within the municipality have a 9-1-1 address located at either the road entrance or, for properties with lake access, the end of the dock. This makes it easy for Temagami Emergency Services to quickly find the right address. When a 9-1-1call is made, a professionally trained Call Taker answers the phone and determines whether the caller needs police, fire or ambulance assistance. In a medical emergency, the call is then patched through to the appropriate Central Ambulance Communication Centre (CACC), where the dispatcher will take over and request more detail about the exact nature of the emergency. For the Temagami area, medical calls are directed to the North Bay CACC, which covers the area from Kirkland Lake to Sundridge and from West Nipissing to Bissett Creek.
Emergency 9-1-1 calls can be made from any land line or cell phone, but should not be made from satellite phones because the 9-1-1 emergency number is universal throughout North America, and the satellite may not transmit the call directly to North Bay. To avoid unnecessary delays, persons with satellite phones should call the North Bay CACC directly at (705) 569-3434 or 1-800 573-4327.
Because time is critical, the paramedics will be dispatched within the first minute of the call, while the information is still being taken. During the day, Temagami Ambulance paramedics have the mandate to be out of the building and on the road within two minutes of receiving the call. In town, the ambulance may even arrive at emergencies before the caller has completed giving the details. At night, paramedics are on-call so the mandate is to be in the ambulance within 10 minutes.
What happens if an emergency occurs out on the lake? The type of response can vary, depending on the time of day or weather conditions, but in every case the nearest land ambulance is dispatched immediately.
In winter, the ambulance is permitted to drive out on the established ice road (Temagami is one of the few ambulance services that are allowed to do so,) and it always carries snowmobile gear in case the paramedics need to travel by sled. During seasons of open water, a call is placed ahead for a water taxi in order to have it ready to go by the time the ambulance arrives. Ambulance emergencies take precedence, but occasionally the water taxi may not be in the area, so the OPP boat would be called upon instead.
Whenever possible, the CACC also sends an air ambulance helicopter to all emergencies on the lake that may need an airlift because the chopper is better equipped for advanced care and can usually get urgent cases to hospital faster. The helicopter ambulance, however, may be unable to respond due to adverse weather conditions or because it’s on another call.
In daylight, the helicopter can land on any flat, open area that is large enough (200 feet X 200 feet), such as a camp’s ball field. At night, the helicopter can still respond, but landing is restricted to designated helipads, such as those located at Bear Island, Marten River, or near Snake Lake in Temagami.
The Communication Centre keeps in contact with the ambulance personnel en route, and informs them whether the helicopter has accepted or declined the call. If the land ambulance personnel arrive first, they will determine the severity of the injury or illness and assess the need for the helicopter and, if it is not needed, they will radio dispatch to call it off. The paramedics will then stabilize and transport the patient by boat and ambulance to the closest, most appropriate hospital, either the North Bay General or the Temiskaming Hospital in New Liskeard.
If the helicopter is used to transport, it will go to whichever hospital is deemed most appropriate for the patient’s condition. In Sudbury and New Liskeard, the helipad is at or near the hospital, but in North Bay the air ambulance must land at the airport, where the patient is then driven in the land ambulance to the hospital. During the transport, whether by land or air, the paramedics can be in contact at all times with a doctor at the base hospital.
In those rare instances when a helicopter is unavailable or unable to land, though the situation requires an airlift, a private operator will be contacted by the CACC and a floatplane with paramedics on board will be dispatched by the ambulance service.
There is a well-trained and very dedicated first response team located at Bear Island that works very closely with the Temagami EMS. First responders have intensive First Aid and CPR training and are also qualified to administer oxygen. Their First Response Vehicle is equipped with the same basic equipment as an ambulance, but the team are not permitted, however, to respond to calls that would take them off Bear Island, nor is it permitted under the Ambulance Act to transport patients unless a paramedic is present. Their function is to stabilize the patient until the Paramedics arrive.
For legitimate emergencies, the hospital (not the ambulance service) will bill the individual a $45.00 charge, whether the service is by land ambulance, helicopter or floatplane.
Although one cannot expect to be surrounded by beautiful, pristine wilderness and still have the same proximity to emergency medical services as in a big city, it is comforting to know that when an emergency occurs, help is on its way as fast as possible.
Thanks to Marc Picard of the North Bay Ambulance Communication Centre for his assistance in compiling this information.
Ambulance personnel are also often present at community activities with their special events vehicle.
©2010 www.temagami.ca 
