EMS Question

[Nield]

I am doing research on EMS in small to medium cities.

What happens after a person calls 911? Does the call for help get routed to the nearest firestation in the area? What happens if more then one call is placed at the same time? Is the second call routed to the next closest fire station?

[NCRSQ751]

I operate in Winston-Salem, NC.

We have a centralized dispatch center that takes all the actual calls. County wide EMS runs all medical calls out of a central station and two sub-stations (one of which is in the city). They also have 4 quick response medic units (pickup trucks outfitted with gear-most of which serve at least some part of the city). We also have fire and rescue units that run quick response on priority calls to stabilize a situation before EMS gets there.

In other words, the only time you might get the 'next in' on a medical call is if you are near an EMS substation and that unit is tied up, then you will get one out of the central station or the closest one.

They don't send next-in for quick response since there is still an ambulance going.

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Susan Bednar
Captain - Forsyth Rescue
North Carolina Strike Force 1

[This message has been edited by NCRSQ751 (edited May 18, 2000).]

[ezyrider39]

I am in a somewhat rural area (its actually like a piece of suburban Washington plopped down in the middle of nowhere, with a naval base for good measure). All 911 calls (excluding the base) go to a central dispatcher, they then dispatch the various volunteer companies located around the county. The county is divided into area boxes, with each box having set priorities for the different companies. If the duty ambulance for the first due company is already out and a call comes in, the second due complany is dispatched along with the first, but is cancelled if the original company gets out in time.

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See you at the big one

[Nield]

In other words when there is a call to the fire department it goes to the central station and then routes to the nearest firestation that is not already on a call?

[FF.FOREVER]

Where I live we don't have the 911 fully set up yet. When a person needs the fire dept or a ambulance they need to call 942-7911. If they just dail 911 it goes to the Bangor Fire Dept (it's the city dept next to us). Then they have to transfer the call to the regional dispatch. Then we are all alerted by pagers. If it's a srtucture fire Bangor will usally role the nearest engine company to Glenburn for mutial aid.

[Grabs]

Our service runs 8 als units though out the county. we work 24 on 48 off, we have a county dispatch and the we have to small cities that have there own public saftey dispatch. when a ems call comes into them thy then send it to our county dispatch.
If the unit for there coverage is out on a call then they send the next colest unit to it. We also use 1st resonders from the vol. fire depts. they are a big help when we are comeing from the other side of the county.they can start Pt care and let us know whats going on with the Pt. we run 1000 + calls a month. I f you have any other "?" you can E mail me at mag1713@aol.

[Lieutenant Gonzo]

In my community, 911 is answered in the dispatch center, which does police/fire/ems dispatch. Any MVA or medical 911 you will generally get all three responding. The nearest Engine company will respond. We carry a medical kit and a defibrillator.

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We boldly go where no one else dares...
take care and stay safe
Lt. Gonzo

[fireman116]

All calls in our county go through the 911 center. They then dispatch the closest fire / rescue unit and transfer the call to the county hospital / ambulance. We are the only career dept in the county and sometimes the volunteers will not have any responders available so the 911 center will dispatch the next closest company. In my city we send the closest engine company, BLS / DEFIB, to the scene unless MVA then it gets an Engine and Rescue 1.