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Omaha Fire Department to end free ambulance standby service

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Fire Department has changed its policy of providing local school districts with ambulances at high school football games.

Fire Chief Bernie Kanger said Tuesday that the department will end the free standby ambulance service that it's offered for the past decade at varsity games and other events on Jan. 1. He said he's trying to make the fire department more efficient and needs to prioritize 911 calls over the standby service.

If a district wants to continue having ambulances at games, it will have to enter into a contract with the fire department or with a private ambulance company.

The Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/1L4RvxX ) reports that the policy change will affect the Millard, Omaha, Elkhorn and Westside districts.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com

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