txdon
Super Star Member
Thanks for all the good information!
We have the money for an AED. My other concern would be our new roll into the realm of emergency medical calls. Our VFD does not do first responders medical calls. No one has the training. We have no first aid equipment, no oxygen, no compresses to stop bleeding, no stethoscope, no BP cup, no backboard, no splints, nothing to help in a medical emergency. Will the AED open the door in our FD to now be dispatched to medical calls because there are now chest pains and the dispatcher knows we have an AED? Isn't there a minimum amount of training and equipment that is expected by the public when the Fire Department arrives on a medical call?
It seems we are taking step 2 before taking step 1, and no one is volunteering for step 1. Just putting a AED on a truck with most of our response times of 20 minutes or more would be a false sense of security for the public. As this thread has pointed out, only the 6-7 volunteers who are responding to fires or someone who goes into ventricular fibrillation after we get there will benefit from an AED. When we get to a medical emergency and the AED is not needed, but something is wrong, will our in-action because of lack of training and equipment be a liability?
We have the money for an AED. My other concern would be our new roll into the realm of emergency medical calls. Our VFD does not do first responders medical calls. No one has the training. We have no first aid equipment, no oxygen, no compresses to stop bleeding, no stethoscope, no BP cup, no backboard, no splints, nothing to help in a medical emergency. Will the AED open the door in our FD to now be dispatched to medical calls because there are now chest pains and the dispatcher knows we have an AED? Isn't there a minimum amount of training and equipment that is expected by the public when the Fire Department arrives on a medical call?
It seems we are taking step 2 before taking step 1, and no one is volunteering for step 1. Just putting a AED on a truck with most of our response times of 20 minutes or more would be a false sense of security for the public. As this thread has pointed out, only the 6-7 volunteers who are responding to fires or someone who goes into ventricular fibrillation after we get there will benefit from an AED. When we get to a medical emergency and the AED is not needed, but something is wrong, will our in-action because of lack of training and equipment be a liability?