Palo Alto is extending offers to four full-time and three part-time paramedics for a new ambulance program focused exclusively on emergency medical care.
The hiring update appeared in the city’s summary of City Manager Ed Shikada’s Nov. 2 comments. The employees will complete an internal academy before the service begins.
The program uses “single-role” personnel, meaning their work centers on medical response rather than combined firefighter and paramedic duties.
According to the city’s recruitment bulletin, the Fire Medic One ambulance is planned to operate daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Full-time employees will work 12-hour shifts, with part-time employees providing additional coverage.
Medical and rescue incidents accounted for 62% of the Fire Department’s calls in 2024, according to its annual report.
The report’s transport table lists 3,868 hospital transports by Palo Alto Fire and another 68 by county ambulances that year. The department serves Palo Alto and Stanford University.
Work is also underway to replace Fire Station 4 near Mitchell Park. The city’s Nov. 2 update says the new design will allow separate staffing for Engine 64 and Medic 64.
The original station at 3600 Middlefield Road was built in 1953. Its replacement is designed to accommodate five personnel and three emergency vehicles, according to the city’s staffing information.
In February 2025, the City Council approved an interim staffing change that allowed a three-person crew to operate either an engine or an ambulance, depending on the emergency. The arrangement does not provide separate crews for simultaneous responses, according to the city’s Station 4 update.
The city’s groundbreaking announcement identified summer 2027 as the anticipated construction completion date. That is a separate timeline from the new ambulance program.
