EMT Question

[SNAKEHUNTER]

I have a question for the EMT's on here. Why is it when there is a call for someone having chest pains or some other emergency not related to a fire......they will send an ambulance, EMT truck, and maybe one or two fire trucks along to the residence? Looks like alot of wasted time and gas to use vehicles not needed for the emergency at hand......or am I missing something.




SNAKEHUNTER

[Knox]

im pretty sure its so everyone is there, in the ambulance its only like 2 i believe.
gotta have your guys.

[NTex]

Man power, lift assist, normally FD is first on scene, most fire trucks have at least one medic on board, etc.

The ambulances are strategical spaced through out the city and the fire stations fill the void for EMS. A ambulance could be on the east side of town and get called to the West. The FD will respond to the scene perform EMS and normally wait for another ambulance to get there.

[Ol Thumper]

Who cares if its you needing them, roll them all is what I say

[QuackAddict]

Well, if while en route to the call if the patient's condition worsens, the FD is there for extra helping hands. Many times we have been dispatched to a call and had an extended response time, and in situations like this sometimes the firefighters are able to get there before us and start treatment before we arrive. If we find that the patient is really bad off and it is possible that their condition may deteriorate while en route to the hospital, then you certainly appreciate a firefighter driver getting you to the ER while your partner assists you in the back with the patient. Here's a non-inclusive list of situations where you're gonna be working your *** off back there and you need help:

• head injury
• exacerbation of CHF
• cardiac arrest
• respiratory arrest
• drug overdose-especially with respiratory depression
• alcohol poisoning-especially if they're belligerent/violent
• severe traumas-stabbings, shootings, etc...

In addition, our medical director states that certain procedures we perform on patients require two medics or at least one other certified personnel to assist us. RSI, emergency tracheotomy, etc...

Hope this clears things up for you.

[QuackAddict]

Oh yeah, those firefighter guys are also really strong, and they're awesome at getting quarter-ton patients out of trailer houses, they live for that stuff!

[kfd82]

Because 99 times out of a 100 what you are dispatched to and what you arrive on scene to find are completely different.

You'd be surprised how many "27 year old female with back pain" have turned out to be 45 year old male, CPR in progress...

[Txjourneyman]

My BIL is a Lt with Mesquite FD. I asked him this same thing. He told me about the time the 700lb woman had to be carried from the house on a tarp because the gurney wouldn't hold her weight. It took more than 2 EMTs to do the totin'. He said when it came time to get her in the ambulance,(on the floor), it took every hand they could muster.

[haztech3]

Man power, lift assist, normally FD is first on scene, most fire trucks have at least one medic on board, etc.

The ambulances are strategical spaced through out the city and the fire stations fill the void for EMS. A ambulance could be on the east side of town and get called to the West. The FD will respond to the scene perform EMS and normally wait for another ambulance to get there.

Avg mpg for an Eng 4mpg, avg hourly wage for a FF$16, average cost of a New Apparatus $650,000 , Cost of Stopping and lessing the Damge to your Heart during a Heart Attack....price less!!!!!!!!!
Every paid Fire Dept in the state of Texas Has EMT-B(basics), most have at least 1 Paramedic on an eng.Some are all ALS and have a full Crew of Paramedics.We can do everything the Ambulance does with the exception of Transport and occasionally we ride in the Box with them to continue Pt care.Alot of Ambulance services also due other jobs like transfers from hospital to hosptal or nursing homes.And some provide services to major cities as well as the rural outlying communities.Therefore they are busy by the nature of the Beast.
Our Ambulance service in Temple provides for all the other cities as well except Belton and they sometimes mutual aid for them.So there responce times can be very lenghty.Our avg response time is 4min and sometimes faster.Therfore your treatment begins sooner and by the time to Box arrives we have assesed and begun treatment and are ready to Transport.
It is costly to put a Half + million dollar truck on the road and some depts have solved this by using squads to cut cost ...but you have to have money to buy them and some depts dont have that.So you get 3 to 4 Hose Jockeys in a fire truck that are all trained as well as the Ambulance folks and a Ambulance.
Trust me when the time comes you need us the last thing on your mind will be "How Much is This Costing?"

[LemmeOut]

As you can see based on peoples responses and where their location is, there are differnet specific answers to your question for different parts of the state depending on what type of EMS system is being utilized. The general answer is they are all there to begin care as quicly as possible, continue that care properly and ensure the pateint can be loaded into the ambulance and enroute to a hospital as quickly as needed.

[medic911]

Oh yeah, those firefighter guys are also really strong, and they're awesome at getting quarter-ton patients out of trailer houses, they live for that stuff!

This!!!!

95 out of 100 patients weight over 300 lbs.

[medic151]

Like said above, we run paramedic engine companies as well as 2 medics per box. 2 stations dont have micu's, so we treat first while waiting on the ambulance. Our ambulances carry airpacks and their bunker gear so they can fight fire also.