Download We`re Glad You Asked!! - City of Grand Junction

We’re Glad You Asked!!
Here at the City of Grand Junction, we sometimes find that incomplete stories or
misinformation about the work we do circulates throughout the community. The
misinformation may begin with a news story, an entry in a blog, a column in a
printed publication, information on someone’s Web site, or simply in the course of
normal conversation. From there it travels. Our challenge is that we rarely get
the opportunity to respond before misinformation spreads. In the past, we have
used this space to bring you information on City events, projects and initiatives.
For the time being, we will be taking the opportunity to use this space to address
some questions you have asked.
Why do a fire truck and an ambulance often respond to 911 medical
calls?
Imagine that a member of your family is having a medical emergency and needs an ambulance or you
just witnessed an accident and a complete stranger has been terribly injured. You call 911 and the
dispatcher lets you know that help will be there shortly. After a few minutes both an ambulance and
fire truck pull up to the scene. You wonder why they are both there because nothing is on fire.
The typical staffing for Grand Junction Fire Department vehicles is two personnel
on an ambulance and four personnel on a fire truck. Many people may not
realize that all of our firefighters are also EMT’s or paramedics, and all of our
first response vehicles carry medical and life support equipment. So
although different vehicles respond, all personnel are capable of providing
medical care.
Each time a call is made to 911 for emergency medical services (EMS), a
decision is made on the spot as to what resources will respond. Accurate and
efficient resource deployment is important to us so we use an assessment system that
helps us determine how many resources to send to which types of emergencies. This decision is always
based on the information our dispatchers collect in the course of the 911 call. We will not send the
resources of six people if it does not appear they are needed. When the situation is appropriate, we
send just an ambulance and two people, and this actually makes up a significant number of our EMS
calls. In some instances where two units are dispatched, the first unit may arrive on scene and
determine right away that the situation does not merit six personnel. The first unit can then cancel the
additional resources or the second unit can go back into service once they arrive on scene. Decisions are
always made based on providing the highest level of care and safety concerns for the patient. Response
times do play a role in the call as well and in many situations, a fire truck may be closer to the scene
than an available ambulance.
Regardless of the emergency or the responding vehicle, our crews arrive ready to help in your time of
need. It may look like a lot of personnel at first, but as we get to work, it quickly becomes clear that in a
trauma or serious medical situation there are many critical things that must be done in a short span of
time. One crew member has a computer in their hands to gather important patient information…what
is the patient’s name, what is the age, do they have any medical problems, are there allergies to any
medications? Another member of the crew is taking a pulse and blood pressure reading, and listening
to the patient breathe. If it is determined the patient needs intravenous (IV) fluids and assessment with
a heart monitor, more resources are required. One EMT readies the fluid and lines while another sets
up the heart monitor and cables to be attached to the patient. Meanwhile, another EMT is preparing a
stretcher so the patient can be transported to a hospital. It’s essentially like we have moved the
emergency room to the patient’s home or out in the field. In a matter of just moments, your family
member, or perhaps a complete stranger you helped by making a call to 911, is
receiving critical professional care before going to the hospital.
When the patient is ready for transport to the hospital, three or four firefighters work
as a team to lift and safely place the patient on the stretcher. This provides more
stable and steady movement for the patient and provides a safer lift and transfer for
the firefighters, reducing the risk of lifting injuries. Often, it takes many hands to
accomplish a lot in a short time and one of our goals is to minimize the on-scene
time so we can get a patient en route to the hospital as fast as possible.
Although it may seem strange to see a fire truck respond when you called with a
medical emergency, providing a high level of care throughout the course of any
emergency is critical. At the end of it all, that’s why we are here.