Q&A
Criteria for dispatching fire engines versus ambulances
0:50:00
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84 sec
Chief Fields explains the criteria used to determine whether to dispatch a fire engine, an ambulance, or both to an emergency call.
- The decision is based on the priority and type of the emergency, not just location
- High-priority calls like cardiac arrests receive both fire engines and ambulances
- Serious traumas, unconscious patients, and certain medical emergencies also get both fire and EMS response
- The dispatch system uses a matrix based on call type to determine the appropriate response units
Gale Brewer
0:50:00
Okay.
0:50:01
The other question I have is how I just wanna go back to the fire and ambulance again because that's what people see on the street.
0:50:09
Then they call to complain, not to mention the sirens.
0:50:11
We won't even get into sirens.
0:50:13
It's another whole topic.
0:50:15
But with the how do you how does one determine fire engine versus ambulance?
0:50:20
Is it a question of location where the incident has taken place?
Michael Fields
0:50:25
No.
0:50:25
It's it's a determination on the priority of the assignment, a cardiac arrest, you're gonna get the engine as well as a BLF ambulance and a ALS ambulance or PRU.
0:50:39
So somebody that has trauma, impaled object inside their chest, like, uncontrollable, arterial bleed.
0:50:48
Somebody that's unconscious.
0:50:50
Those type of call types are handled by fire operations from a CFO, a deeper perspective, as well as EMTs and paramedics.
0:50:58
If you have somebody who's having chest pain, wit, difficulty breathing, you're gonna have a CFRD engine that is dispatched to that as well along with paramedics.
0:51:09
So is is based off the call type in any algorithm But when the system assigns a call type, with that call type becomes a matrix, and that matrix will determine whether or not we're gonna have a CFR d respond, EMTs respond, or paramedics or or.
