Municipalities may create an EMS division in a fire department, but staffing, testing, certification, and promotion must follow civil service rules.
§2481.1. Emergency medical services A. Any municipality subject to the provisions of this Part may, in accordance with this Section, establish within the fire department an emergency medical services division. Assignments to the division shall be made from within the classified service. The local fire and police civil service board shall prescribe qualifications for positions within the division and the office of state examiner shall prepare and administer a competitive test for the entrance level position in the division. All positions in the division above the entrance level shall be by promotion in accordance with the other provisions of this Part based upon promotional tests prepared and administered by the office of state examiner to determine fitness for such promotional positions as such positions are described by the rules adopted by the fire and police civil service board. No person shall be admitted to a test for any position in the emergency medical services division who does not hold as a minimum a certificate as a "Certified Emergency Medical Technician - Basic" as that term is defined in R.S. 40:1131. B. A fire and police civil service board may by rule require that any person assigned to emergency medical services division shall maintain minimum certification as a "Certified Emergency Medical Technician - Basic" as provided in R.S. 40:1131. Any person not maintaining such certification shall be returned to the position that he occupied in the classified service prior to his assignment to the emergency medical services division in accordance with the other provisions of this Part. C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit any municipality, parish, or fire protection district from establishing an emergency medical services division, department, or other agency rendering such services outside of the fire department without compliance with the provisions of this Section. However, a fire department may provide advance life support and emergency medical services without creating a separate division for that purpose. Acts 1985, No. 998, §1, eff. July 23, 1985.