NJMedic

A few days ago on the "Secret List" there was some commentary about the chief that slept thru a job in Chicago. The spokesman for the CFD said that there was no significant issue because two chiefs were assigned to the alarm. Goldfeder's comment included the following... While it is clear that tough economic times have effected most of North America's fire service, there also seems to be an impression, in some communities that they can do "without" some "parts" of their fire department. But - - - WHICH parts? WHICH roles? WHICH tasks? WHICH stations and most critically: WHICH people? What part of the FD is NOT needed? In this case Lawrence decided that providing EMS was something they didn't need to do. For years the fire service has argued that EMS should be part of the fire department, that the fire department is best suited to provide EMS. The Lawrence FD was no different. For years Lawrence Fire responded to EMS incidents. Now the FIre Chief had to decide what the CORE mission of his fire department and he gave up EMS. Doesn't matter the EMS incidents run 20 to 1 over fire incidents or that fact the while most people will never have a fire in their house many more will need EMS to respond. While not having a engine company available for a house fire is it any better that the same engine company is not going to be available for the 45 year old with an MI or the child having a seizure? But the kicker is this statement "A three-tiered response normally pulls police, fire and an ambulance crew to a medical aid call. Without firefighters, only police and a Patriot ambulance crew will go to the majority of calls now. Paramedics from Lawrence General Hospital are also available to respond to life-threatening calls. "When someone has a medical emergency, they will still get a response," Takvorian said. Firefighters will still respond to car accidents, including crashes where a victim is trapped and a Jaws of Life extrication tool is needed. "Absolutely," Takvorian said. And Patriot Ambulance has assigned another ambulance crew to the city to help fill the void, Mayor Michael Sullivan said."They stepped right up to the place," Sullivan said of the ambulance service. So essentially the FD gave up EMS, which sends the message that the FD responding to EMS runs wasn't REALLY needed. Of course the media and the public might ask "Well, if its not REALLY needed, and other agencies (PD and Patriot Ambulance) are going to address our needs why do we have to pay taxes to have the FD respond to EMS runs in the first place?" I'm sure the lose of over 2,700 runs to the FD is not to going to add anything to the arguement to maintain staffing. I'm not saying its right its the stuff the public and the media eat up.

Might only be a band aid solution to a bigger problem. Since the patients are on the property of the hospital like it or not the patients are their responsibility, even if the medics have not "transferred care". If EMS is going to try to solve a hospital problem then the hospitals will have no desire to do it themselves. Waht happens when the patient needs intervention, does the medic have any equipment other then the stretcher? What if he/she needs to contact medical control? This might solve one problem but open the door to many others.

The whole problem can be summed up in these two quotes..... “I joined the force to battle blazes, not to be an emergency room doctor,” and “Look around,” Mr. Muyleart said. “We have an ambulance and two cop cars here. Do we really need a fire engine and four firefighters as well?”

FEMA's National Continuity Program Directorate has released a new online course: Introduction to Continuity of Operations Planning for Pandemic Influenza (IS 520). Follow this link and instructions to access this course: http://emilms.fema.gov/IS520/index.htm

Montgomery County, Maryland has been using PODS for 15+ years. In the Philadelphia area the UASI agencies are using them to carry various PODS for major events. Howard County, Maryland also has PODS. Cooper Tank in Brooklyn does the coversions for FDNY. The photos are from the Montgomery County, PA EMS MCI truck

I feel sorry for those who have not heard about any plans in their area. In my area we have had a program in place for several years in which all public safety responders participate in a vaccine distribution program. Born after the anthrax attacks of October 2001, each agency maintains a list of staff members including all those that live with the staff member and their ability to take Cipro and Doxi. The theory being that not only is the responder protected but the family members are so it relieves the burden on the responder to stay home and take care of a family members. These medications flow from the state to the county to the local providers. Now the potential H1N1 vaccine program is the same but different since CDC guidelines only dictate that the staff member will be getting the vaccine. This might not be a major hurdle, at least for me since my wife is an RN and our kids are in the targeted age range for first priority. I wouldn't wait for an level of government to put forth a continuity plan for EMS. Stop what you doing now any deal with this issue today. If it isn't H1N1 it could be MRSA in your agency, norovirus among your staff, and something else that is under the radar that will cause problems. Most "experts" will tell you to plan for 40% less staff. Keep in mind that is not only the EMS staff but police, fire, hospitals, vendors, schools, etc, etc. The CDC has a document that can serve as a guide for EMS planning and preparation. Go to this link to get a copy. http://www.flu.gov/plan/healthcare/emgncymedical.html Law enforcement also has a planning guide: http://www.flu.gov/plan/workplaceplanning/...nforcement.html As does Corrections: http://www.flu.gov/plan/workplaceplanning/...nchecklist.html Other reference... EMS Pandemic Influenza Guidelines for Statewide Adoption http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/ems/Pan...enzaGuidelines/ USFA Pandemic Flu Planning Resources http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/subjec...ms/pandemicflu/ National Association of State EMS Officials http://www.nasemso.org/Resources/PandemicInfluenza.asp Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

SSSShhhhh! Don't tell anyone but if you go to MSN/Bing Maps you can find the tanker he mentioned. http://www.bing.com/maps/

From a Lt with JCPD..... One Officer is in critical condition but the prognosis is good, there was no brain damage but he sustained extensive facial injuries and loss of blood. The next 48 to 72 hours will reveal more about his future condition. The remaining two ESU Officers sustained pellet and shrapnel wounds to the neck area. One is in stable condition and under 24 hour preventative stay in hospital. The 3rd Officer has been released. I have no concrete info on the JCPD Detective or the Port Authority ESU Officer.

There are three Level I trauma centers in New Jersey. University Hospital in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson Univesity Hospital in New Brunswick, and Cooper Hospital in Camden. There are 7 Level II trauma centers in New Jersey, Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, St Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, Capital Health in Trenton, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, and Atlantic City Medical Center in Atlantic City. All trauma centers in NJ are verified by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the State Department of Health as Trauma Centers. Being a "regional" trauma center is all PR. They are all regional in scope. There are no Level III or IV trauma centers in NJ. There are five providers of medevac based in New Jersey. Northstar, based at Somerset Airport in Bedminister (Somerset) and SouthStat based in Voorhes (Camden County). Both operations are NJ State Police based and fly the Sikorsky S-76. Both ships are flown VFR although they are IFR equipped with two pilots on board. Northstar and Southstar fly with an RN/EMT or paramedic and a paramedic. University Hospital in Newark provides the medical crew and Virtua Health Systems in Camden County provides SouthStar's medical crew. Atlantic Air One is affliated with Atlantic Health Systems which is the system made up of Morristown Memorial Hospital and Overlook Hospital and is based in Newton. They fly one EC-135 using PHI as the vendor using one pilot. They also staff their ships with a RN/EMT or paramedic and a paramedic form Atlantic Health. MONOC (Monmouth Ocean Hospital Systems, although they are in other counties other then Monmouth and Ocean Counties) also fly a EC-135 from PHI Helicopters and staff their ships in the same fashion as Atlantic Health. They are based at Robert J Miller Airpark in Toms River. Atlantic City Medical Center in conjunction with Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia operator MidAtlantic MedEvac. They fly either a S-76 or more likely a BK117. Medvac 5 is based in Hammonton, NJ. For many years Hahnemann partnered with Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown and operated under the name University Medevac. That partnership ended last year and each hospital went their own way. All scene flights are coordinated with REMCS, the Regional Emergency Medical Communications System at University Hospital in Newark. All scene requests are handled by REMCS and each program has their own first due area. Second due requests are usually given to the closest provider. All scene flights are handled on the trunked talk group estanlished ny the NJSP. Interfacilities transport are usually handled internally. In addition the the five providers based in NJ the follwoing agencies are also licensed to operate (which means the can pick up anywhere in NJ, anyone can drop off) in NJ.... Sky FlightCare, based in Coatesville, PA PennSTAR Flight, based in Philadelphia STAT MedEvac, based in West Mifflin, PA JeffSTAT/Air Methods, based in Philadelphia Christiana Care/LifeNet based in Newark, DE University MedEvac, Lehigh Valley Hospital, based in Allentown The US Coast Guard and the NYPD will also fly patients in, especially for air sea rescue jobs. I'm not sure with LifeNet NY is not on the list anymore. All toll there are over 35 helicopters liscensed in operate in NJ. I've seen Fairfax Innova Air, Maryland State Police, Delaware State Police, Med Star from DC and LifeStar from Hartford all fly patients into NJ. Now you know more then you ever wanted to know about medevac in NJ!

New Jersey has a law that all truss constructed buildings have to have warnings posted. The Hackensack Ford fire was one of the driving forces.

Sorry, forgot a decimal point. I could never be confused for a Math major.

Well...the US Fire Administration reports that there were an estimated 1,148,800 firefighters (career: 323,350, volunteer: 825,450) in the nation in 2007. That works out to about $2.70 per firefighter.

Irvington did in fact purchase Somerville's old Seagrave TDA. Used the tiller compartment off an old Union City (now North Hudson) TDA to enclose the tiller seat once they bought it. Irvington: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...y/Irvington.htm Somerville: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other.../Somerville.htm Other NJ tillers.... North Hudson Regional: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...th%20Hudson.htm Passaic: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...nty/Passaic.htm Hamilton Twp: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...slingHoseFC.htm Trenton: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...nty/Trenton.htm Asbury Park: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...bury%20Park.htm Atlantic City: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...ntic%20City.htm Ventnor: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...nty/Ventnor.htm Cliffside Park: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...side%20Park.htm Garfield: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...ty/Garfield.htm Ridgefield Park: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...ield%20Park.htm Rutherford: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other.../Rutherford.htm

The same thing could be said of many PD and FD LODDs. Guys falling off trucks, motor vehicle crashes, screwed up risk benefit ratios, sudden cardiac deaths with known risk factors. All tragic but in one sense or the other likely preventable. I don't see the difference in the deaths of NYC Paramedics that responded out of NYH Pres 09/11 then those Paramedics that worked for FDNY. As long as the part of the official response.

I wonder what the circumstances where that the troopers had to assist the county?

In January 1999,the Hudson County, NJ cities of Weehawkin, North Bergen, Union City, West New York, and Guttenberg combined to form North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue. Everything went from 5 seperate operations and command staffs into one. The communities served by North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue are located directly across the Hudson River from the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the Southernmost borders where Union City and North Bergen meet Jersey City to the Northern borders which touch Southeast Bergen County. The regional response area also covers, from East to West respectively, the Hudson River, including the Lincoln Tunnel to the community of Secaucus and the New Jersey Meadowlands. Last year they responded to over 29,000 jobs (no EMS transport). Believe me, if it can happen in Hudson County, one of the strongest political machines in the Country, it can happen anywhere.

I went but didn't see anything exciting but then again I haven't seen anything exciting in a long time. I thought Reading's (PA) KME TDA was attractive as were most of the Pierce units. Nice layouts on the Pierce rescues. KME's ARFF was interesting. I thought the crowd was going to be heavy since the parking lot was as full as it is in years past is but by 1pm things inside were light to moderate. As usually if you were looking to buy smacker stuff you were in your glory. I had to chuckle to myself observing all the chief's vehicles parked in handicapped lot with permit hang tags. Not sure what type of message that sends.

No, this is a new strain and a vaccine has not been developed as of now but you can take Tamiflu after you are diagnosised with Swine flu to lessen the symptoms.

http://www.sei-ind.com/cfm/index.cfm?It=90...mp;Sv=&Rn=1

NYC EMS used to have RN is their Comm Center for the same reasons. Don't know why the don't now but I suspect that it wasn't doing what is was designed to do. EMD is (or should be) protocol driven and medically controlled. Even then I think most people who make a habit of calling 9-1-1 for EMS know what words to say to get a response. Granted there are plenty of callers who admittedly call EMS for non-emergencies and these RNs might have an impact on those calls but I don't see a hugh cost savings. Dallas was another city that has tried this until a RN used her own protocols to determine who should get a ambulance and a patient died because the response was denied. Dallas lost big $$$$ in that case.

Monmouth County is getting one using their county homeland security funding. One is going in the Northern NJ UASI area, no host agency has been selected yet and the third is going somewhere in the Delaware Bay Port Security Area, no host agency named for the region as of yet. The numbers on the rest of the units all depend on which way the wind is blowing that day.

The seven counties that make up the DC Council of Governments each has a Medical Ambulance Bus. MEDIC EMS in Charlotte Mecklenburg County recently accepted two of these units. One was on display at EMS Today in Baltimore last month. Minneapolis also received one last year. Here in NJ we have three on order with the possibility of four more. The are going to be used for evacuations, rehab, oxygen therapy, haz mat dressing and undressing, and I'm sure other things we haven't thought of yet. They are made by a company called Saratin Services out of North Carolina.

It is my understanding that there are two groups that provide instruction in EMD. One is The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and the other is Priority Dispatch. Priority Dispatch was begun by a physician named Jeff Clawson in Utah back in the 1980's. This was around the time that proving medical instructions during a 9-1-1 call became cutting edge. This was also around the time that "Rescue 911" began so it became a hot issue. Basically Clawson wrote the first protocols for EMD and market under the name "Medical Priority Dispatch System". Fast foward to today and the 12th version of his protocols have recently been released. Around the same time that Clawson started APCO began marketing their own version of EMD. APCO has been around since the beginning of public safety communications. The National Academies of Emergency Dispatch is an arm of Priority Disptach that "supports first-responder related research, unified protocol application, legislation for emergency call center regulation, and strengthening the emergency dispatch community through education, certification, and accreditation". I guess you could say be accredited by the NAED sounds impressive but I would have to say that 99.9% of "accredited centers are also using Clawson Most call takers here in NJ are APCO taught but there is a smattering of centers that use Clawson. Which one is better is anyones guess. To me its like saying Seagrave is a better truck then Pierce. All depends on who you ask. There is another accrediting agency called the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Within this commission is a section for Public Safety Communications Accredation. http://www.apcointl.org/institute/courses/emd.htm http://www.prioritydispatch.net/ http://www.calea.org/Online/CALEAPrograms/...ommprograma.htm

I can't speak for what happens across the country for the but there is enough wackiness in NYC to support a full time ESU style response even if they did not get involved in rescue work. That type of demand is not too common anywhere else. Being a tactical paramedic assigned to a county-based SWAT team the idea of waiting for SWAT to respond to deal with an active shooter, especially if civilians are in the line of fire is not in vogue anymore. Unless SWAT is on the road 24/7 the regular road officers are going to have to deal with this until SWAT gets there which in my area can take up to an hour. If with SWAT on the scene stills can still spin out of control. Two of the officers involved in the San Fransisco were assigned to SFPD SWAT.

Can you imagine the storm that would happen if the Ladder cancelled the Engine and they lost control of the fire. I doubt FDNY is going to let that pass. That being said I wouldn't doubt they have attack hose on the apparatus. I know a couple of ESU trucks that "I've heard" have hose and nozzles on them. Heck even our EMS special ops truck has hose, nozzle, and hydrant wrench.....but only for gross decon . On the other hand can you imagine if the bean counters heard of this. "You mean with can have one apparatus that can cover the work traditionally done by two units, cool"