Troy residents seeking progress report on new emergency services company hired by city

An emergency service company hired by the city of Troy, Michigan, last year has officially been answering 911 calls for a month now, and residents want a progress report.

The city parted ways with its previous company, Universal Ambulance, last year and went with a smaller company, Star EMS, which also costs less. Star EMS began working in the city on Jan. 1.

"A really big concern was, can a smaller company meet the response times that Troy set out as being important?" said Troy resident Edward Ross.

Ross says he has had no luck in finding out if Star EMS is responding to 911 calls as quickly as they promised.

"I sent in a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) earlier in January asking the city to provide that data, and it was denied," said Ross.

However, Ross is not alone. Multiple people on social media share similar concerns.

CBS News Detroit went to Star EMS headquarters to get answers.

"I am very proud of the services we have been able to provide to the citizens of Troy, and yes, we are meeting that benchmark without a doubt," said Craig Gebo, director of client services for Star EMS.

Gebo says there hasn't been any data to release because it just came out. He says he couldn't release the results to show if they are meeting the six-minute response time because the city wanted time to review the data.

CBS News Detroit learned that the hustle began before January. The company had to get new ambulances to meet the city's needs during a nationwide shortage.

"That wait time can be anywhere from 18 months to three years to get that brand news built to you," said Star EMS director of operations Charles Hughes.

Hughes says they only had four months to get this done, which is why they went with a newer model. While they don't look like your traditional ambulance, they are fully equipped for any emergency.

"Everybody takes the same board, but here at Star EMS, we do something a little differently. We require them to do annual training here, so we put them through ventilator training, we put them through pediatric medication routinely," said Gebo.

And while Star EMS is considered a smaller company, the company says its size gives it an advantage.

"Sometimes the bigger you get, sometimes you lose that finish that fit that is real special to your employees to keep them recognizing what the mission is and how we can do the best that we can on a daily basis," said Hughes.

CBS News Detroit reached out to the City of Troy and received the following statement:

"The City of Troy is satisfied with STAR EMS and the services it provides to our community. We look forward to continuing our partnership to ensure our residents' needs are met with compassionate, high-quality patient care. 

As for EMS response times, the City of Troy was provided with data from the first month of services today, in a monthly meeting regarding EMS services and operations. While we are still evaluating the data, we are confident STAR EMS is meeting the response times dictated in the contract."

Star EMS encourages anyone with questions to visit their website or to call its toll-free line.