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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- In an emergency situation Colorado Springs firefighters are the first ones on the scene.

But not every 911 call rises to the level of emergency services.

"They'll get really sick and have what we call symptoms of problems and get so bad, they'll say, 'I can't take it anymore and call 911'," Chief Richard Brown, of the Colorado Springs Fire Department said.

Half of the 56,000 alarms the Colorado Springs Fire Department repsond to are medical in nature, and for some people who don't have insurance, 911 is their health coverage.

Station 8 on Airport Rd. and Academy Blvd. helps 1 or 2 people a day with basic health tests like blood pressure and and blood sugar.

The new clinics would put those services into a once or twice a month event at specified locations.

"Folks call us out for blood pressure, diabetic emergencies and, 'hey does this look broken to you?'. So, we come out and provide advice for them," Lt. Bill Miller, of the Colorado Springs Fire Department, Station 8 said.

Now, while the fire department is always here to help the community, the services will be basic and stay within the departments EMT/ paramedic limitations.

The program kicked off last week with a pilot health clinic provided at fire station 4, 8, and 11.

Only a handful of stations will participate in the program, which is still in the early stages.