Did you know that each of our firefighters is also trained in emergency medical services? In addition to EMTs, at least one paramedic is staffed on each of our emergency response vehicles. Paramedics are advanced-level pre-hospital health care providers who deliver emergency medical care to patients in critical situations like cardiac arrest, heart attacks, respiratory distress, and trauma. They are trained to perform various medical procedures and interventions in high-stress environments and are also tasked with making critical decisions on the scene, such as proper medication administration, determining the most appropriate destination for care, and more.

When called on the scene of an emergency, a fire may not be visible. Regardless, our firefighters may “pull” a hose proactively to ensure they’re always ready to go. But why do that if there is no fire visibly present? We do this as a best practice to quickly minimize damage in case a fire is found. Our firefighters still need to be able to respond at a moment’s notice and ensure that water can be deployed to combat a fire that could rapidly develop. This protocol helps support the department’s mission of saving lives and minimizing property damage or…