When the Fire Dept responds to medical 911 calls why do they send the big pumper trucks when there is no fire?

Question

I got home tonight and there was a ambulance, a small fire truck and a huge pumper truck outside my apartment building!

I thought maybe there had been a fire. Getting out I saw the Fire Department were in the restaurant across the street. Looking in the window I saw the paramedics aiding an elderly woman having trouble breathing.

I've never been able to figure out why on such calls they send the big pumper trucks when they might be needed else where if there were a fire somewhere.

Answer 1

Because the larger trucks were closer and had a faster ETA than the nearest ambulance.

Answer 2

Once the call is finally checked out, they are normally released. It provides manpower and safety when someone is very heavy, is confined in a restricted location, or when crowd control is required. A little old lady obviously only needs the two people on the MICU and if the emergency is called in by knowledgeable people (a cop, a nurse at the clinic, etc.) that is all that is sent. But if a 300 pound guy has collapsed on the second floor of a walkup between a couple of appliances, it may take emergency jaws, 3-4 people, and special baskets to get him out.
Since the fire trucks can be dispatched from anywhere, not just the station, it is better to send them than to try to call them in on a timely basis after the MICU gets there.

Answer 3

LOL! That's what I've said to a firefighter who showed up onscene..."Is the patient on fire or something?"

In many cities with private ambulance services (such as Rural Metro or AMR), they will also dispatch a fire truck or two. For one thing, it always helps to have more hands with patient care and traffic control at car accidents, many of the fire trucks have paramedics on them as well, and truthfully, it brings up their call volume and proves that they are putting taxpayer money to good use. The amount of fires has decreased so much, that they must find other ways to make themselves useful or risk station shutdowns, cutbacks, and the like. If there was a fire, I'm sure dispatch would pull them off of the medical call, and put them on the fire call without hesitation. They stay in their coverage area when responding to medical calls, so it wouldn't really change response times or anything.

I really don't mind...especially with a heavy patient, and it's kind of nice to see the cute dudes in turnout gear! :)

Answer 4

Because, while responding to a call, or returning from a call, they may be called to fire!!! Many of the fire department personnel are paramedic specialists. Just because they came in a pumper truck, doesn't mean their not paramedics!!!! The ambulance is necessary for transport of a victim not necessarily treatment!!!

Answer 5

It's probably written into policy. The firemen are EMTs and there response helps insure that a first responder gets there ASAP to look after the injured. It may seem crazy to drive that big truck to get there but that's what they drive. If your loved one was injured and possibly dieing you probably wouldn't care if they got there on a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer if they saved them.

We had some people complaining about this in a town I worked in years ago. The Fire Chief explained that his men drive fire trucks and that is how they get around. If they leave a vehicle crash with injuries and are on the way back to the station when a structure fire call comes out then they are ready to go to that call. He then explained the EMT part I pointed out above.

Answer 6

Many cities use the regular fire trucks in place of a rescue squad. The paramedics are also regular firemen so they use the unit they are assigned to for all emergency runs.

Answer 7

Several reasons. The usual one is that they are away from the station so if a fire call comes in while they are away they can respond without returning to the station. The second is that most smaller depts. don't have the resources to purchase a dedicated medical response unit and to have the staff to operate it.

Answer 8

Many times you don't know what to expect. One time I went on a "Woman Down" call and the woman was passed out in a house full of gas, the gas line had broken and if the engine hadn't responded we would have been waiting for it to arrive and the woman probably would have died.

Answer 9

I wonder the same thing. Seems like massive overreaction to even minor calls- with like 2-3 engines and 2 police cars for every non-fire related 911 call.

With all due respect for the diligence in responding (which is great- better overdone than underdone), you can't help but wonder if its just cuz they're bored. Its not like firefighters need to respond to fire calls all day- a lot of its down time.

Answer 10

The same reason why cops idle their cars in disregard of air quality, and have brand new vehicles every three years, all expenses paid to drive around the state as they wish: It is all on taxpayer's money