Saratoga Springs firefighters take over ambulance service in the Spa City on Friday. Our C.J. Spang rode along on the very first call and has more.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Barely 30 minutes into Friday's shift, Saratoga Springs firefighters put their ambulance to use.

"We are under pressure," said assistant chief Peter Shaw. "All the eyes are on us to make sure that we're going to produce what we say we can produce. We're 100 percent confident that we're going to be able to produce what we said we can produce."

Saratoga Springs firefighters have been providing emergency medical services for the last 20 years. The only difference now is that they're going to be using their ambulance to transport patients to the hospital.

"We've done the first steps from call receipt, to arriving on the scene, treating the patient on the scene," said firefighter Joe Dolan. "The last step that we just didn't provide was the transport. And adding that final step provides a continuity of service, a continuity of care to that patient."

The actual transporting of the patient is where the city will generate revenue. The fire department estimates it could be anywhere from $379,000 to $829,000 in the first year.

"We have our people here. They're going to be here anyways. We need them for firefighting," Shaw said. "Why not engage them in additional life saving skills? Why not utilize them to their fullest potential here? And in the meantime, generate revenue."

Fire officials say they want residents to know they can do the job without risking anyone's safety.

"We are still capable of providing fire, rescue and EMS services with the addition of transportation," Dolan said. "There won't be any loss of services in one other area."