It's a saying many around Macon-Bibb have said in a time of emergency.
"Well, I didn't call for a firetruck. I called for an ambulance!"
But in Macon-Bibb, firefighters play double duty, part-time firefighter and part-time paramedic.
It's an agreement that Fire Chief Shane Edwards says comes in handy with county-wide EMS staffing and ambulance shortages. "Everybody on this truck is medically trained to take care of you until an ambulance gets here, and we can get here so much quicker. We're quicker just because we're strategically placed. With 22 fire stations, we're able to get to those scenes before an ambulance. Not every time but the majority of the time," Edwards explained.
Edwards says while they can't transport patients, they can help treat patients on the scene, which can come in handy if you're waiting up to two hours.