Average amount of time you spend at an alarm

[Guest]

After discussing the issue of if members need to standby during a weather emergency, I brought up how in my experience the amount of time spent for a nonsense alarm is staggering, and this is from my own experience as doing it professionally and as a volunteer.

So, how long do you expect to spend when your pager goes off? I know EMS is different than Fire, so please mark your answer differently.

On average I would say 45 minutes is what is wasted on this. Between responding from home, getting there, people then returning, then waiting for the LOSAP sheet to return, is about average. At work, of course the distance traveled is much smaller, but we do not waste any time, go, make a signal, return, unless its something substantial 20 minutes max.

[ny10570 745]

volunteer EMS was brutal. Some people saw these runs as a chance to socialize and it would turn a 45 minute call into an 90 minutes or more. There are also very few false alarms in EMS so almost every call is being transported.

Volunteer fire averages probably 30 minutes including BS time after the call.

[Goose 188]

Takes about 3 - 5 minutes to go to 90% of the jobs (very ballpark). Anywhere from less than 10 minutes to 35 - 45 minutes (i think thats the longest for me) during a complicated medical control RMA spent on scene. And then anywhere from probably 10 minutes to 45 or so minutes at the ER - transferring care, giving the report, decon, restock, paperwork, etc.

The average EMS call for me probably lasts in the area of an hour. If things start to get busy we do our best to cut the turn around time considerably.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Goose

[Guest]

Average home response fire call, about 45 mins for your typical nonsense call, for in-station response, about 15 minutes. Typical ambo transport runs about 1 hour to 2 hours, depending on wait time at the ER, a typical rma/no patient runs about 15 minutes.

[mlcougar2001 8]

My department if its a BS call 5-10mins we are back in service back to normal life the paid staff does the paper work. on any other call with exception of major incidents we are back in service in an hour. we do 1100-1500 calls a year and with exception of an actual event BS calls are quick.

[FiftyOnePride 100]

Half an hour on AFA's, hour or two for MVA's, we avg at an hour from tones to in service for EMS runs. Couple of hours for fires. Sorry about my bad typing I just hurt my finger, meh.

[Remember585 815]

Most often we try to kick units loose as soon as possible. Some calls are handled in 15-20 minutes, others take almost that long just to get to the scene. EMS...no less then an hour and a half, unless you luck out and have a competent BLS crew, no Medic (no need for ALS), and the call isn't going to involve a lot of work moving the patient.