'Lazy' EMTs hand off to volunteers

They're throwing them a bone. Some city emergency medical technicians are "turfing out" low-priority 911 calls to nonprofit volunteer ambulance units in Queens, several sources told The Post.

That allows the nonprofits to pick up patients and receive payment -- money that otherwise would have gone to the city.

"Yeah, it happens. Some of the guys are turfing out calls to other guys who work for the community crews," said a longtime volunteer with a Queens community-ambulance team.

"It's only low-priority calls they don't want to take, or if they're really jammed up," the volunteer said. "They'll text or call a 'vollie' and say 'there's a pick-up on this street, you want it?' "

One longtime worker at the FDNY's Emergency Medical Service said: "It's a bit deceptive to the patient. When people call 911, they expect to see an FDNY crew roll up, not a volunteer unit."

The FDNY units still respond to the calls, said several volunteer EMTs.

"But maybe they'll just go a little slower to let the volunteer crew get a head start so the vollies do the transport if a patient needs to go to the hospital," said one of the volunteers.

The FDNY said an allegation of call-sharing was made at an agency meeting but the claim was not pursued.

"We don't investigate rumors -- we investigate specific allegations of wrongdoing," said FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon.

"At this point these are rumors. There is no open investigation."

Michael Russell, an EMT with the Corona Community Ambulance Volunteer Corps in Queens, also "heard allegations" his volunteers got texts from EMS workers at nearby FDNY Battalion 46 and private crews at North Shore University Hospital. A few Battalion 46 members moonlight as volunteers for Corona.

"Me personally, I've never gotten a text -- I've heard rumors, but that's it," said Russell.

David Moretti, president of the Corona volunteer corps, called the allegations ridiculous.

"No, no, that's just crazy," he said.

Moretti and Russell also insisted that all Corona EMTs work as unpaid volunteers -- although information filed on Guidestar, which tracks tax returns for nonprofits, said the group instituted paid daytime shifts in December 2009.

The FDNY does officially tap Queens volunteer crews for help during major emergencies -- like last month's freak tornado. But its medics aren't authorized to decide when to turn 911 calls over to other crews.

The department has a process to deal with infractions like passing off calls to outside groups, said EMS union spokesman Bob Ungar. "We think a thorough investigation is called for," he said. "This should be looked into as a matter of public safety."