(BUFFALO, N.Y.) – Mayor Anthony M. Masiello, Team Fire, hospital administrators and others gathered for an open house Monday March 7th, 2005 from noon to 4 pm and celebrated the recent agreement between the City of Buffalo and Rural/Metro Medical Services.

“This is a chance for the key decision makers to meet our staff,” said Rob Zachrich, General Manager of Rural Metro Medical Services. “And our employees are looking forward to meeting the people who have entrusted us with this vital mission.”

“While we did a national RFQ/P, I think it shows me and everybody that our Buffalo people in Emergency Medical Services, especially here at Rural/Metro Medical Services, can compete with anybody in the country”, said Anthony Masiello, the Mayor of the City of Buffalo.

Rural/Metro Medical Services is Western New York’s premier provider of health and safety solutions. Rural/Metro and its predecessors have provided exceptional ambulance service for more than 40 years in the City. The Buffalo Common Council voted overwhelmingly to approve the matter at its February 22, 2005 meeting.

Rural/Metro was the unanimous choice of the Emergency Medical Services Board in their vote on February 7th, 2005. They were also the unanimous choice of the Buffalo Fire/EMS Task Force. The board had issued an RFQ/P in November of 2004.

“This agreement allows us to move even further into a collaborative effort with the Buffalo Fire Department to provide the best EMS service to the citizens of Buffalo,” Zachrich went on to say. “We look forward to working with the leadership of Team Fire to make important inroads into EMS. We are proud of the services we provide to the citizens of Buffalo and we are looking forward to continuing those efforts. The overwhelming support of both the Common Council and the Emergency Medical Services board clearly reflects the hard work and dedication of our employees.”

Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Rural/Metro Medical Services also has satellite offices and ambulance bases in Amherst, Cheektowaga, Hamburg, and Niagara Falls. Our 520+ employees are responsible for servicing 22 hospitals and over 100 nursing homes and health care facilities as well as the one million residents who reside in Western New York.