Anyone work in "emergency services"..?

Re: Anyone work in "emergency services"..?

• K&P414 member

  November 2009

  I don't work in Emergency services but I know that certain calls that come in get difference responses.  I asked my husband the same thing just the other day because 2 cop cars, an ambulance and a firetruck all came whizzing by us.

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• KT&John member

  November 2009

  I don't know much about this at all, but I used to work in Assisted Living and I know the Fire Department were the designated "first responders" they would always come and get started and then the paramedics took over.

  

  
  

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• Kecusc member

  November 2009

  Firetrucks often have to report to a scene even if there's no fire, because they're trained as emts, I think. As far as the multiple police cars, it really does depend on what's going on. If it's an "officer needs assistance" call, as many as possible will rush to help the officer who needs it. In many areas, officers don't ride with partners because of budget cuts, so even if it's not yet an "assistance" call, one might go to back up the officer who is actually supposed to be working the scene.
  

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• Melliebugs

  November 2009

  If it is a medical problem fire always comes first.  When Noah had his seizures fire always responded first.  They are closer than hospitals.

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• ebearwife member

  November 2009

  My dad is a fireman/EMT for EMA.  I think any 911 call he gets dispatched, as well as police.  Sometimes he takes the ambulance and sometimes he takes the fire truck, I think basically the whole unit is dispatched, so a fire truck and an ambulance leave the station.  Since he also drives the water truck, I think that leaves only in the case of an actual fire reported.  As far as police, all emergency personnel are trained in basic first response so many times police will race to the scene just in case they can arrive first.  Of course, Daddy works in a rural area so maybe the metro 911 response is more sophisticated.

  A paramedic that is attending classes here at the college told me that it takes an average of 7 minutes for the ambulance to arrive on the scene of an emergency.  If a police officer or fireman arrives first they can start CPR or use paddles on an unresponsive person when every second counts.  This is probably the reason all units are dispatched in an emergency.  Seven minutes down is a death sentence in a cardiac situation.
   

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• kep member

  November 2009

  I dated a police officer (not here) for about three years--technically, he was a public safety officer, who is trained to be a fireman and a police officer. (They had to pull shifts at the fire dept. with the regular firefighters and they carried turnout gear in their trunks.) They would be dispatched accordingly by the 9-1-1 office. They all know that the others are responding and work together. Sometimes, as a police officer, it depends on what you are doing and your location within your zone when it comes to response time, etc. I know different cities have different ways of doing things--for example, the city where he worked has since done away with the public safety officer program, etc.
  

  
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• JoelsGirl07

  November 2009

  This is tight up my alley! I used to be a medic for Newton County EMS and I trained in St. Pete/Clearwater Florida (one of the busiest areas in the country b/c of the old people and Canadians).

  Anyway, to answer your questions. In MOST places in the metro area, and it really varies, when you call 911 this is what happens:

  1. Central dispatch answers and determines your needs. 

  2. For Medical only (Heart attack, etc) you will get an ambulance that has an emt and a paramedic and some sort of fire apparatus (unless it's Dekalb, in which case fire IS the ambulance) that has at least an EMT, although most around here also have medics. The FD comes from the station that covers your area, and if they aren't available (they are on another call), there is a list of who gets you next. Ambulances usually come from some posted location. Meaning they are parked somewhere waiting for you to call.

  For MVCs (motor vehicle crashes) - You will get an ambulance, some police and a fire engine. Once one of them arrives, they determine if more help is needed. You may get a squad if extrication is necessary.

  For fires - you get one truck for each alarm. If you've ever heard the term "3-alarm fire" it means they needed that much help to put it out. You will also get an ambulance in case of victims, and to rehab the firefighters

  Police - that's self explanatory.

  As far as what you saw yesterday, sometimes they are going to separate calls (if you saw six, that's very likely), but sometimes they need more than one person. A lot of the cops around here only have one person to a car so you would get at least two for anything that could be dangerous.
  

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• kbrickell

  November 2009

  My folks dispatch the HERO trucks, and then we call the local 911 centers and they will dispatch fire, police and the ambulances based on the severity of the incident we are reporting and then once on scene the folks may call in additional resources.

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