Why do they send fire trucks with ambulances when there’s no fire?
In: Other
[removed]
[removed]
In most (if not all) places, firefighters are trained in basic first aid. Where I live, there are far more fire stations than ambulance stations, so the firefighters will often be able to arrive first. They can do some great stuff like CPR until the ambulance arrives, and then the paramedics with their more advanced care can take over.
Other comments above are also correct. The firefighters will often help to carry things, can handle gas leaks without a fire, and help to break people out of crashed cars so the paramedics can treat them! (Among many other things.)
Source: I’m a paramedic
Firemen do not only fight fires, but respond to emergencies where life is endangered. I suppose this depends on the city, but most (if not all) firefighters are also trained/certified paramedics and they do have a decent amount of first aid equipment. Oftentimes, firefighters get to the scene of an accident faster than the paramedics do, so they can stabilize a casualty prior to transport. Additionally, some injuries require extraction and movement that paramedics are not equipped to handle. This can include pulling someone out of a wrecked car, or rescuing anyone trapped in a similar fashion.
With car accidents, there is always a risk of fire. Firefighters might respond to a car accident in order to clean up the gasoline from a damaged fuel tank.
While about everything said here is true, the ‘real’ reason is for budgeting.
It is easier to argue for a bigger budget if you can show how your vehicles/personnel have answered X number of calls this year. The bigger X is the better equipped you are to try and increase your budget.
If you have a $1 million firetruck that is used only 2% of the time the bean counters are not likely to approve other projects as they are needed. So you make them tag along on calls they are not needed on to inflate the numbers.
The second ‘real’ reason is training. You want people who are used to answering calls when it is really needed. Best way to train someone to answer calls is to make them actually answer calls. They get to experience the process, learn to not panic, fill out after action reports, and build muscle memory to the entire thing. Maybe they even get numbed to some of the awful things out there, which can keep them coolheaded in rough situations.
All in all you do it because it benefits everyone involved. The department, the firefighters, the admins, and the people being assisted.
firefighters are trained and equipped for extractions and rescues. Paramedics are not. I don’t understand either why fire trucks and firefighters show up to a routine medical call (heart attack, broken leg, stabbing) but for any sort of accident they may be needed.
Beyond the other answers of “additional services may be required,” in our area personnel are typically assigned to a vehicle. Particularly in CPR cases you may have 6-8 responders to the call. That may be an aid car with paramedics (advanced life support/ALS), firefighter/EMTs on another vehicle (basic life support/BLS), and a batallion chief in their own vehicle. Firefighter/EMTs may do the basic work of getting patients on a gurney, scene stabilization, et cetera in between taking turns on chest compressions. The paramedics will supervise, administer medication and provide breathing support, and so on…
Each vehicle may come from another call, and as soon as the patient is being transported in the aid car, the others they go straight to another call without returning to the station.
Multiple vehicles provides flexibility and faster response times as new situations develop or are re-prioritized.
Rural America answer.
In my small town we have Volunteer firemen and damn few of them except Saturday afternoon. Two fire trucks, one ambulance, one brush truck, one tanker.
If there is an emergency they send both the fire truck & Ambulance for Injures that aren’t full identified, like a car accident, assuming they need the ambulance and perhaps the fire truck or additional personnel.
If there is a second emergency, They dispatch the firetruck from the accident directly to the concern and call the neighboring town and alert them that both vehicles are occupied and to be ready if a third accident occurs, or that they will need the neighboring towns ambulance for the second incident.
Next they call guys at work and have them leave work and assist at an emergency. This may involve going to the station and collecting equipment or just going directly. they don’t like doing this because it is a pain in the ass but it happens.
As you can imagine the response time is slow, so don’t get too injured.
Here in Texas it is because the Fire Fighters have basic medical training and there are more of them so they will likely get to the emergency before the ambulances do. So they can stabilize the patient or at least take initial information till the paramedics get there.
They are also there in case there is something that could catch fire (car wreck), something that needs to be destroyed to get to the patient (breaking down a door, jaws of life to cut apart a car, etc), or if they need extra muscle to get the patient out.
Latest Answers