While it is great that this service is provided I do question the logic of a very expensive fire truck, specifically built for fighting fires, a crew of firefighters and the dangers of such a large vehicle going on so many calls, when by the sounds of it we need more ambulances and more stations for them ?

It is great the Firefighters have the advanced training for say when someone is trapped and it isn’t safe for the ambulance people to be there, that is awesome.

The fire department wanted extra men so that the firehall on 5th and Ospika could be fully staffed so either the ladder truck or regular truck could respond to calls at the same time. Well what happens when the truck is off doing ambulance calls ? Seems we are doing the service of the province and at the same time compromising our fire protection.

Do we get to send a bill to the province for responding first ?

“in 24% of the calls, the fire fighters arrived on scene more than 3 minutes ahead of the B.C. Ambulance Service”

1. in how many of the calls did the fire fighters arrive ahead of the ambualnce service, irrespective of the time?

2. in how many cases was it the reverse.

3. how often did the ambulance service arrive 3 minutes ahead of the fire service. Is it actually greater than 24% of the calls?

4. Why was there is difference in response? I assume the key reason is case dependent – one service was significantly closer to the incident than the other.

In the event that a more emergent call occurs the Fire truck can be released to attend the other event.
As well, Ambulance staff are not allowed to go into car wrecks, structural collapses, confined space emergencies, rope rescues or explosion sites, so who cares for these people until they can be handed off to ambulance staff?

This is what I have also been led to believe….
In order to have and ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulance in town, the needs to be a first responder service, in this case its the PGFD.
Without that layered response, we can only have a BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance.
So if the Fire Dept. no longer responds to theses calls we lose the higher level of care for the more critical calls.

I hope that explains things a bit better

In the event that a more emergent call occurs the Fire truck can be released to attend the other event.
As well, Ambulance staff are not allowed to go into car wrecks, structural collapses, confined space emergencies, rope rescues or explosion sites, so who cares for these people until they can be handed off to ambulance staff?

This is what I have also been led to believe….
In order to have and ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulance in town, the needs to be a first responder service, in this case its the PGFD.
Without that layered response, we can only have a BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance.
So if the Fire Dept. no longer responds to theses calls we lose the higher level of care for the more critical calls.

I hope that explains things a bit better

Why was there is difference in response?

Easy answer, more firehalls than ambulance depots. Hwy 16 west has a fire hall near by but an ambulance has to come from near the hospital. I think that will skew the numbers a bunch

Washing away from my mind those early TV shows called “Rescue 8” and “Emergency”. One Adam 12. Even Car 54, where are you? Toody and Muldoon? Life was grand then.

Local fire dept. calls are dispatched locally. Ambulance calls are dispatched from Kamloops. Does this have an effect on response times ?

Why is the City of Prince George, and therefore Prince George taxpayers, paying a city fire department to do the work of the provincial government ambulance personnel?

If there is a problem with BCAS response times, lobby the provincial government for additional resources.

If the need is due to BCAS personnel being unable to enter hazardous scenes, instruct 911 dispatchers, to dispatch the appropriate department (fire / rescue) when dispatching ambulances. (This is how other cities of PG’s size do it.

Having the fire department rush out to every (or a majority) of ambulance calls is duplicating services at taxpayer expense, likely to justify more fire halls and more firefighters.

Jales4….at taxpayer expense?? The ambulance and fire dept get paid if they sit at the hall or go on calls so how is it an increase in expense? Would you not want the quickest and best care possible? Better patient care is the intended result of utilizing both agencies and I’m sure the fd gets re routed if other emergencies arise.

The fire trucks have responded to medical emergencies for years. I was at a fatality 15 years ago and they were the initial first responder. It was too late for them to provide medical assistance but I was sure glad to see them and have them take control. Having several fire fighters available…more than just two ambulance attendants…they were able to help everyone else that had been affected by the death. They also arrived several minutes before the ambulance.

http://princegeorge.ca/cityhall/mayorcouncil/councilagendasminutes/agendas/2012/2012_05_07/documents/Rpt_EMR_Program.pdf

The link is to a report to Council in May. It contains some more data.

In the 22 months of the trial, Prince George Fire Rescue responded to a total of 9795 calls, of which 5,870 (60%) were for medical assistance. An automatic electronic interface between Fire and Ambulance dispatch system was not in place for the first 5 months of the trial period. This interface commenced on December 1, 2010, after which time fire crews arrived first at medical scenes in 58% of cases.

Given the distribution of fire halls versus ambulance stations I would have expected the fire crews to be first at the scene more often than 58% of the time. I assume there is some difficulty in maneuvering the large equipment though streets and traffic.

Since the trial began, Prince George Fire Rescue crews have administered the following number of treatments:
•309 – Glucometry
•238 – IV Maintenance
•22 – Entonox
•20 min – Packaging
•17 – Aspirin
•6 – Nitroglycerin
•2 – Childbirth

I am not sure I can reach any conclusion from that other than it looks like very few seemed to be life threatening situations. For the crews to be involved with IV maintenance, ambulance attendants, at the minimum, have to be present to install an IV.

These reports hang around and open for comment for 3 days, but as soon as they are off the front page they are as good as gone.

Anyway, here is an interesting report from Hudson Hope.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/06/14/bc-hudson-hope-ambulance.html

—– from the above link————-

The mayor of Hudson’s Hope wants answers after a woman died waiting more than an hour for an ambulance to arrive.

The woman, in her 70s, suffered a heart attack on Friday. RCMP and the volunteer fire department responded and administered CPR, but the community’s only ambulance had been transferred to Tumbler Ridge, 160 km away.
——————————

On the Hudson’s Hope web page is this info.

Emergency Health Services
The BC Ambulance Service operates a station in Hudson’s Hope (#862) with 1 Ambulance. This station is led by a Unit Chief and staffed with both Primary Care Paramedics and Emergency Medical Responders who all work part-time/on-call (kilo shift). The ambulance station is co-located with the Health Centre. Serious cases are transferred to the hospitals in Chetwynd or Fort St John.

——————————–

It is 65 km from Hudson’s Hope to Chetwynd. A police car/van with sirens going can probably do the distance in 45 minutes ……

So what are police and fire fighters supposed to do? Can they handle a person who has had a heart attack? The obvious thing to do, as it implies in the article, is to take an ambulance from FS John or Dawson Creek if there was not one in Tumbler Ridge.

If that was not done, then if the RCMP or firemen can handle a person in medical distress … and they were giving CPR …. Then why did they not place the woman in a van or even a car if need be and start driving towards the ambulance dispatched from Chetwynd. She would have been in the hands of paramedics in half the time. (an old practical application from grade 3 math class).

Most of all, does Hudson’s Hope, with a population of about 1,000, not have a medical practitioner, whether doctor or nurse practitioner or even simply a nurse available in the community at all times? And, if not, then if the only service they have available when the clinic is shut down, 3 days a week from the looks of it, someone should be brought in from FSJ or DC to cover on those occasions.

Just seems to me that there was no thought or not enough thought given to covering a community of more than a 1,000 in the area.

I bet you no one in the community was advised that there was no coverage for 24 or more hours so do not overexert yourself or use chainsaws during that period.

http://prrd.bc.ca/board/agendas/2011/2011-12-7898955612/pages/documents/06-D-2AmbulanceBackgroundltr.pdf

Interesting letter from the Regional District from May 2011 drawing the attention of the new Minister responsible for an ongoing situation.

Obviously nothing was done about it. Someone likely paid with her life. (only from the point of view that we do not know whether it was a massive attack from which she likely would not have recoverd even if she was right across the VGH in Vancouver)