No these trucks are 2007-2008 Ford f-450 and the capartments for the trucks are diffrent from the 1970 trucks LA County Fire started.

Thank god for the boys in blue to save us medics from ourselves as you can obviously see in the video we do not know how to drive a big rig as a porche

If the driver had his hand out of the window with his middle finger extended, then it should be on the troopers dash cam. Either way, when the trooper realised there was a pt in the back he should have done a follow-up at the hospital, or requested a supervisor to, as there was not an emergent need to give a ticket. However, with the trooper continuing to make statements about the finger and not a failure to yield, there are underlying problems with him and time for him to GO! He will cite his time in IRAQ as causing him stress though ......

If the driver had his hand out of the window with his middle finger extended, then it should be on the troopers dash cam. Either way, when the trooper realised there was a pt in the back he should have done a follow-up at the hospital, or requested a supervisor to, as there was not an emergent need to give a ticket. However, with the trooper continuing to make statements about the finger and not a failure to yield, there are underlying problems with him and time for him to GO! He will cite his time in IRAQ as causing him stress though ......

Isnt this a return to the 1970s style engine-squad started in LA County? The purpose of ALS engines was to reduce personnel costs. Why have an engine and squade with 6 people, when an ALS engine can do the same work with 4? If we need to reduce fire department responses, why not arrange for private ambulances to handle BLS calls by themselves and save fire units for more serious incidents. For example, why do we send a 4-person ALS engine company to a nursing home or doctors office for a stable patient in need of transport? There are better, more cost-effective ways to do business; I dont know that this is it.

Little Prick...They were helping his mother for god sake..This is happening more and more..This little POS will turn out to be a great citizen of our community.

Do you realize that the very essence of your article is so dangerous to those that do have life altering chronic pain problems? To initialize your article with the main symton of a drug seeker is one that a patient presents with symtoms of pain? Are you kidding? What does one really achieve by spending hours in an ER having people give them glaring looks while they are suffering? Articles and attitudes like yours end up making the real sufferers endure needless torture and more physical symptoms. Have you ever been new to an area and tried to get a Primary care physicians initial appointment? Once you do, a primary care physician is not likely to feel comfortable prescribing meds for chronic pain, so you will be referred to multiple doctors, which are called specialists. Then that too is a "symtom" of a drug seeker. Thanks to articles like yours, I suffered a cardiac arrest, went into both congestive heart failure and kidney failure. Apparently drug seeking behaviors also include bloody urine, septic levels of bacteria in the blood, bloody diahhrea, bloody vomit, so much so that my esposhogus nearly ruptured. Having to go to a different state to recieve life saving measures and trying to explain why some ignorant Er labeled me as a drug seeker didnt seem to make sense to anyone, but I guess it does if that Doctor has time to goole an article like yours, instead of remembering that old oath...

Hold one of their loved ones head underwater until an ambulance responds and see how quick they want it there!!!

Its about time. A weight surcharge. What a great idea.
Now we need a tip jar for the medics and emts

You are so right! I have been a Paramedic for 15 years. I too have went through all of these things you site in your article.

Being a fire chief myself and if I was told that one of my firefighters was attacked by any of our LEOs I would back my firefighters 100% the LEOs need to know and understand we all have to work together to accomplish our goals. It seems to me this officer has alot of combat related stresses to work through and he should not be allowed to be on patrol let alone posess a fire arm till he has been psychologically cleared this guy clearly has no right wearing a badge. I know when I come on scene I make it clear to the LEOs I am the incident commander and they will not interfere with my fire opperations, we are not there for traffic control that is their job.

Quote, "...Paramedics cant provide good CPR in the back of an ambulance while flying down the road at 90 miles an hour, with lights and sirens blazing, to the hospital."

This statement is wrong in many ways. NO unit should ever go over the speed limit in any code. This is a driver training issue. Any call requiring the rear attendant to move around or stand, should be responding less than the posted speed limit. The lights and siren should be used to safely stop and crawl us thru the stop lights, and maintain situational awareness for the citizens. We need to get out of this adrenaline "gotta get there fast" mentality we have. All the new designs wont help you one bit in a lateral impact at an intersection, restrained or not. All the new designs will most likely be of little use in any significant high speed crash. If my clipboard or pen falls off the bench during a transport, the driver and I are going to talk about it ( yes, I am that obsessed with driving skills ).
We already have the answers, its time to change our statistical numbers and stop trying to invent new ways to protect us for poor driving habits.

Folks, we also need to realize ( as it is being underscored in this article ) that safe driving practices on OUR part need to strickly adhered to. There have been studies done showing that excessive speed with lights and siren are a major contributer to our crashes. There is no need to respond to the hospital lights and siren with our technology with probably more than 75% of our patients. Ambulance drivers need to slow down, pay attention and regaurdless of the call, get there safely without driving like a cowboy outlaw. Even during a cardiac arrest, there should be no reason to exceed the speed limit ( I advise my drivers to respond 10-20mph UNDER the posted speed limit when I am working a code, the other citizen drivers will just have to get over it if we are going to slow for them ).
Easy braking, easy excelleration, smoothing out the turns and predicting WAY in advance of stops, etc., will provide a safer run, fuel economic, less wear on brakes and tires, less oil consumption... and did I mention safer? I have made it a passion to teach my drivers to slow down, and it does not hurt my feelings one bit to call them out. Many years of observation, driving and studying this art is paying off for my crew. And pt care actually has improved due to an easier ride = more calm environment. Next time your unit responds hot to the ER with an arrest, take a moment to think of how you are being bumped around, feeling more anxious, trying to get everything done you need. Its a calming experience. I can go on for ever with proven examples that my crew and I have experienced.
We are the trained ones, we HAVE to think for the citizen drivers. You will never get over than. No matter how safe our ambulance design gets, it will always boil down to our driving habits. And they really suck.
Observe with an open mind. Youll see.

The North Carolina legislature slipped this in several years ago. Medics are often called to assist LEO at their stations to administer blood draws. The Blood draw kits have all required materials and LEO assumes the chain of custody. For rural areas it is a big help to the Troopers and Deputies. In municipalities it becomes a hassle every Friday and Saturday night due to the frequency of impaired drivers and the LEO staffing constraints. For LEO to travel to the hospital for a blood draw removes them from their coverage area which impacts community policing, etc. One may argue that it delays medical response as well. In NC if a patient refuses to allow the procedure to occur (patient refusal documentation) the patient automatically loses their operators permit for a year. So in a way its a win-win situation. Some patients are less than cooperative and that can become an issue. Perhaps a consult with North Carolinas EMS leaders would help in making a informed decision.

I teach healthcare provider cpr and first aid for AHA and I am a registered EMT FOR THE STATE OF PENNA.I want to know why 2 paramedics were on scene of a cardiac arrest with a Dr for 3 quarters of an hour(45mins).Are there no Protocols in L.A.? Most codes are in and out 10 to 20 mins.AED hookup is the first 90 seconds and cpr should have been started.The small als services in Pa are doing als interventions and are transporting within 30 minutes.

Mr. Faugh,

Good comments and questions about the video of the FD officer being arrested at the scene of the auto accident. You bring up some things I hadnt thought of, but I would keep in mind that the police dash cam video may not have shown everything. In my own experience, Ive been at scenes where we couldnt spot the apparatus correctly because other vehicles were in the way. In any case, I agree the arrest was inappropriate. Another discussion that could have been had between supervisors at a later date and time. Compromising patient care by arresting a FD member at the scene is never a good idea.

Ah, cmon! What happened to the dash cam? I cant find it anywhere and the one attatched to the article is "unavailable".

This guy has had this school open for years, and has the worse failure rate in the state, sure everyone passes his Skills test but its like 97% dont pass the written, We need more schools...but we need good ones, I know 7 people who have taken this guys course and all failed. And as for his Tatical coures???? NO Law Enforcement agency in the state will allow an EMT or Paramedic to "Just" be on the team, Tatical medics are experieanced members of the Law Enforcement Agency, think twice before you spend money here

What happened to micheal is not an accident. God knew that it was time for him to come home. We have got to understand that he is better off that we are. The world has became something that none of us will ever understand and I want to say to the family, I am an 80s baby and I grew up listening to all of his music. His music will forever go on in my heart. I love you micheal and I will hope to see you when god calls me home. Hope you will meet me at the gate.... Stay strong jackson Family!!!!

Your article has several good points but I did see the video of the Capt. blocking a lane and then getting arrested. That fire truck was protecting NO ONE it was a hazard and if it got hit would have gone down the road collecting everyone in front of it thinking they were protected. . It should have been parked at an angle BEHIND the police car that videoed the event. I think an arrest was out of line but so was saying they were protecting anything! Also When a car goes off the highway 200 feet into the wood I dont think all three lanes of traffic should be blocked but this happen quite a bit when some badge heavy fire officer decided to flex his muscles. Also some agencies like to set up camp at the scene and screw up traffic for hours for no reason - do you job and get out of there.....