Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker
I am always surprised when a full-fledged fire truck arrives in addition to the paramedic trucks. Why send a hugely expensive fire truck to a medical emergency? There must be a very good reason?
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One of the biggest reasons is cost savings as over the years fire dept personnel have become much more multi-function personnel. In The Villages I believe there is a 2 mile radius for fire station coverage but the ambulances cover a much larger area thus creating a slightly longer response time.
The process is supposed to work as the fire dept being the 1st responder to the medical call and will start medical treatment. The ambulance arrives and continues that treatment to the hospital.
In my years in the fire service the fire engine would almost always be 1st on scene. Another advantage to this is the turn time for the responders. A fire engine may be committed to a medical call for a short period of time while an ambulance on a medical call could be committed to that call for an hour of more.