Dallas Fire-Rescue officials are sick of ever-increasing ambulance runs.
But they say they have two remedies coming: a new dispatch system and an expansion of a program in which the department's paramedics make house calls.
Fire officials told members of the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Monday that they are nearly ready to buy new dispatch software that will help separate true emergencies such as heart attacks from routine medical issues such as stubbed toes.
Currently, Dallas Fire-Rescue responds to both types of calls by rushing an ambulance to the scene. That puts a strain on its Emergency Medical Services, whose call load increased more than 11 percent from fiscal 2012 to 2015.
City Council member Jennifer Staubach Gates, a registered nurse, called that jump "pretty significant." And Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief David Coatney said it's based on "a conservative analysis."
Earlier this year, Dallas Fire-Rescue had to call in private ambulances to help tend to the high number of people calling 911.