Paramedic Program

Chandler Fire Department operates an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program with a designated level of out-of-hospital emergency medical care that meets the needs of the community, under the license of a base hospital physician that provides direction from on and offline medical orders. Chandler Regional Medical Center (CRMC) serves as the base hospital, and provides online medical control, as well as the medical director who oversees the offline orders. The department participates with a regional consortium of area medical directors to establish these standing orders. Offline medical protocols are provided to each paramedic in hard copy, smartphone application, on department computers, and on tablets used for patient charting. The medical director for the department is responsible for maintaining the EMS protocols, paramedic educational standards, and ensures they meet the rules and regulations set by the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS).

In the past, CFD paramedic students were trained by the Maricopa Community College system. However, CFD determined it to be in the best interest of our service delivery system to internally provide the training and education for professional workforce development. Many of the instructors and evaluators, are already adjunct faculty in the community college system and serve as fire fighters within CFD. The opportunity to attend our program is one of the most sought-after assignments within CFD which makes it a highly competitive process for a limited number of students.

CFD has an intergovernmental agreement with the Maricopa Community College District that allows for students who successfully complete the program to attain 45 college credit hours and an academic course completion certificate that is institutionally accredited through Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges. These credits can be applied directly to a choice of degrees at the community college level, such as Advanced Emergency Medical Technology-Paramedic and Emergency Response and Operations. The ability to earn these credits and degrees also allows our members to enroll into the state university system, through an articulation agreement with the college district, to continue higher education.