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Comment by Allen on February 22, 2009 at 8:46am

We do not run the Ambulance service but we respond to every medical call. Most of the time we beat the ambulance to the location and get 1st lines started. We have talked about getting an ambulance in the station but at the same time we do not really want it.
I like it the way it is cause we get to keep up the skills and at the same time do not just sit around waiting on Fire calls.
Now keep in mind that we have a multi trained staff that is Medical and Fire trained. If you are not Medical trained, you can make location but you have to have medical personnel with you.

Comment by Joe Stoltz on February 22, 2009 at 7:29am

For us, it would be a big step backward if the fire service did not provide EMS at any level. Currently, maybe 10% of the FDs within my county do NOT provide EMS at the first response or transporting ambulance level. Even so, the 10 percenters do occasionally get called for lift assistance or manpower/first response to a cardiac arrest or choking call. Wouldn't it be great if they were trained to provide help if they arrive before the bus?

Scrapping even one volunteer ambulance agency would put a huge strain on the remaining agencies, particularly the one paid service that could pick up the calls.

EMS isn't just taking a sick person to the hospital or dealing with the frequent fliers that need fancy taxi service. Situations like crashes, cardiac events, choking/breathing problems and other potentially life threatening conditions need to be treated ASAP. In many, many cases a fire department response is much faster than ambulance.

A fire service that doesn't provide a first response service in rural areas isn't realizing its full potential to serve the public.

Comment by lutan1 on February 21, 2009 at 3:32pm

For us it's simple- the FD don't do medical. It's run by the Ambulance Service which is a stand alone organisation.

It'd be a really cold day in hell before Ambulance and Fire departments combined over here....

Comment by Robert on February 21, 2009 at 12:55pm

We have our Ems within our dept. already. The medical portion is a separate part with it's own personal. But we also have many firefighters that are mfr and emt-b certified.