The time first-response fire fighters have to initiate care in a midsize city. J Emerg Med 2003 Aug;25(2):171-4
Date
08/07/2003Pubmed ID
12902004DOI
10.1016/s0736-4679(03)00166-5Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0043169448 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 8 CitationsAbstract
The objective of this study was to determine whether simultaneously dispatched first-response firefighters (fire) arrive before transporting EMS providers (ambulance) and the amount of time fire has on scene to initiate care. Fire and ambulance dispatch records were obtained for all 9-1-1 responses from four 1-month intervals. Only incidents to which both agencies had been simultaneously dispatched were included. Response time for each agency was determined by subtracting the time of dispatch from the time of arrival. The difference between fire and ambulance response time was the time fire had to initiate care. Both agencies were simultaneously dispatched to 4752 incidents. Average response time for all incidents was 4.0 +/- 2.6 min for fire and 5.3 +/- 2.0 min for ambulance. Fire had 1.3 +/- 3.2 min on average to initiate care. Fire arrived before ambulance for 69% (3262) of requests and for these calls had 2.8 +/- 1.7 min on average to initiate care. Utilization of densely staged first-response fire apparatus in a midsize city may be appropriate because firefighters frequently arrive before ambulances and may have adequate time to initiate lifesaving interventions.
Author List
Lerner EB, Billittier AJ, Moscati RM, Adolf JEMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AmbulancesEmergency Medical Services
Emergency Medical Technicians
First Aid
Humans
Occupations
Retrospective Studies
Time Factors