The main ambulance company in Syracuse filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, but the move doesn’t look like it will affect emergency medical services at Syracuse University.

Rural/Metro Corp. is a national private ambulance and fire protection company based in Scottsdale, Ariz., that operates in 21 states and almost 700 places, including Syracuse. The company filed for reorganization bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

“It’s typical restructuring that happens,” said Paul Smyth, EMS manager for Syracuse University Ambulance. “As far as day-to-day operations go, we aren’t going to see much effect.”

SUA is the first responder for EMS calls in the SU community, but Rural/Metro takes care of all advanced life support cases, Smyth said. Rural/Metro has been operating in Syracuse for 60 years and handles about 43,000 calls per year in the city, said Melissa Fleishmann, public relations manager for Rural/Metro Central New York.

Fleishmann said “there will be no change in Syracuse in terms of service,” something that Bill Ryan, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner’s chief of staff, seemed to also say.

“I don’t anticipate that it’s going to be an issue (for public safety),” Ryan added. “Large conglomerates like Rural/Metro reorganize.”

The city has known about the company’s financial trouble for about four to six weeks, he said. Ryan said he’s been in communication with Rural/Metro leadership and has a meeting with the company on Wednesday.

The Syracuse Fire Department, which works closely with Rural/Metro, already has a plan in place if something were to happen, he said. Ryan said he’s not sure of the specifics of the plan, but trusts the fire department.

District Councilor Jake Barrett, who serves as chairman of the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee,  said a contingency plan is being worked on to prevent the bankruptcy from affecting public safety in Syracuse.

TLC Medical Transportation also handles some emergency and non-emergency calls in the city and Onondaga County. Director of Operations Lon Fricano said it would be able to take over service on short notice and “do what we need to do to get people to the hospital” if something further were to happen to Rural/Metro.

“We would certainly be able to step up. That’s not an issue,” he said. “We think it’s a good idea to have both of (Syracuse’s) ambulance companies active in the system.”

Fricano said at this point, talks with the city have been informal.

There are many Chapter 11 cases that succeed, said Gregory Germain, a professor of law at SU who teaches LAW 764: “Bankruptcy Law: Creditors Rights and Debtor Protection” and LAW 909: “Bankruptcy Clinic” and has written extensively about the topic.

“The ones that fail are the ones that can’t operate profitably going forward,” he said. “But if it’s something they can deal with and put behind them, there’s a possibility of success.”

Germain said he believes Rural/Metro’s massive debt was the result of a leveraged buyout in 2011, with the company being unable to service the debt.

The company has both assets and liabilities that are about $500 million-$1 billion, according to court documents.

Rural/Metro President and CEO Scott Bartos said in a statement the company has reached an agreement with its lenders and bondholders to reduce debt by about 50 percent, and that operations will remain the same during restructuring.

“This agreement is good news for Rural/Metro and for the clients and communities we serve,” Bartos said in the statement.

Published on August 5, 2013 at 6:12 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum