Odd Comment

[docB]

In my area we have an uneasy relationship between fire and private EMS. I was talking to a friend who is a firefighter and he made an interesting comment. He noted that the FD gets a lot more training in vehicle ops than the private services. He said that because the private services are under trained in the opinion of the fire department they are refusing to allow the privates to use the light sensors that override the stop lights and turn them green for the ambulances. He said that if the privates got more training the FD would consider allowing them to use the system.

That's weird. This is a safety feature. The idea is that you are better off turning the light green than running the red which is what they do now. Turning the light green will help with the hard of hearing and the radio blasting drivers. So denying use of the safety feature to someone because you think they are under trained seems odd. It would be like telling new drivers that they aren't allowed to wear their seat belts until they pass a test.

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[deleted6669]

yup, stupid rule.
That's like the private agencies saying their medical training is better(probably true) because they don't have to deal with fire training so fire medics shouldn't be able to use glidescopes because they are more "technical" despite making intubation easier in some folks....

 

[BB8730]

Yeah that's pretty strange, but in a way it doesn't surprise me.

It reminds me of how screwed up service areas can be. The FD I work at is literally 30 seconds away from some locations that are part of a different FD's service area, and the other FD is about 8 minutes away. At times it can be really tempting for us to first respond to serious, time-sensitive calls there - which seems to me like the ethical thing to do - but the political ramifications of responding to someone else's "turf" would be huge, so we don't. I wish more people knew. "Oh, your kid is having an allergic reaction and his throat is closing? Sorry, you'll have to wait for an FD that is 6 miles away to respond when there's a different FD 6 blocks away that, for political reasons, will not be responding."

It's always sad when politics and egos dictate EMS logistics.

 

[Apollyon]

What are they talking, EVOC, or CEVO, or what?

I find it rather specious that fire would say that they had greater training, or, even given that, that they would keep it up year after year (if they got it in the academy, then never again, it's a hollow argument).

 

[docB]

What are they talking, EVOC, or CEVO, or what?

I find it rather specious that fire would say that they had greater training, or, even given that, that they would keep it up year after year (if they got it in the academy, then never again, it's a hollow argument).

No apparently it goes beyond EVOC. He said they get another full week of training. I asked if that was just their apparatus ops training (where to park to lay hose, access hydrants, etc.) which isn't applicable to EMS. He was less clear on that but he is convinced they get more and better training.

My main issue is that if you train people well enough you have less need for safety devices like the light changers.

His argument would have been better if he'd said "We restrict the privates to using the light changers to get the green before they pass. We have enough training that we can run the light once it's safe."

 

[deleted6669]

when I was a medic in L.A. we had to treat red lights as stop signs. failure to do so resulted in lots of accidents and many medics being fired for same....this was in the early 90's.

 

[joeDO2]

the opticom system gets interesting when you have multiple agencies approaching the same intersection from different positions all thinking they will have the light change for them. i think this is the greater issue.

 

[TarHeelEMT]

when I was a medic in L.A. we had to treat red lights as stop signs. failure to do so resulted in lots of accidents and many medics being fired for same....this was in the early 90's.

That's still the standard in NC.


Regarding the OP, sounds more like politics than an actual safety issue, but you obviously have better insight into how things work there. The petty politics involved in EMS and fire are unbelievable. There are lots of big egos competing for a very small turf.

 

[Farmer2DO]

That's ridiculous. It's a turf war, nothing more. The FD has the ability to limit what the privates can do, so they do it.

Here, our privates get FAR more driver safety training than the FD. We have drivecams, and routinely take pictures of the fire trucks running a red light without regard. I'm amazed they haven't killed someone yet.

When I approach an intersection with a fire truck coming from another direction, I turn my lights off and let them go. I'd prefer not to die.