Emergency medical services in Iceland include the provision of ambulance service. They provide all emergency ambulance service for a population of in excess of 320,000 people in one of the most sparsely settled countries in Europe. The system is government-funded for the first 85 percent of cost, with 15 percent being charged to the individual as a deterrent fee. All services in Iceland are provided by the Icelandic Red Cross, with individual ambulances often co-located with local fire brigades. Organization Land ambulance There are currently approximately 77 operational land ambulances in Iceland. These are distributed across almost all communities, usually at fire stations. They are owned and equipped by the Icelandic Red Cross, but are crewed by fire service personnel. In larger centres, such as Reykjavík, the ambulances are staffed by full-time, paid Emergency medical technicians. In smaller centres, EMTs may be part-time, or even on-call from home in some cases. All ambulance personnel are either the equivalent of EMT-B or EMT-I. Staffing of ambulances is normally 2 people, with two EMT-Bs, or, where available, an EMT-B and an EMT-I. Paramedics are usually found only in Reykjavík, which operates a single, Advanced Life Support ambulance with a crew of three. Ambulances are organized according to the country's multiple Health Service Districts, but are centrally dispatched. At 2014, the ambulances were converted Mercedes vans. Air ambulance Because of the sparse population, bad weather, and large numbers of airports, most air ambulance service in Iceland is accomplished using fixed-wing aircraft. The government of Iceland has contracted out this service since 2001. The type of aircraft normally used is a Beechcraft Super King Air 200 operated by the airline Mýflug (Myflug Air). Mýflug has one dedicated air ambulance in Iceland, based at Akureyri, the site of the country's second largest hospital. There are normally 2 aircraft available (one dedicated, one as a charter), with a third charter aircraft being provided during the winter months. When weather conditions or other circumstances make fixed-wing inappropriate, the system has access to three helicopters (Aerospatiale Dauphin or Super Puma) operated by the Icelandic Coast Guard, and based at Reykjavík. On medical missions, Coast Guard helicopters are normally staffed by physicians. Iceland's Air Ambulance system responds to approximately 450 fixed-wing calls per year, and an additional 130-160 helicopter calls per year. Model of care An attempt to describe the model of care used quickly becomes complex. At the