EMS Crew Assignments / Response

[huzzie59 75]

How does your Ambulance Corps or Fire Department VAC handle call response?

In other words, do you have set crews?

Or, whoever is around when the pager goes off just respond?

How long do you wait before calling mutual aid?

Do you run more than one ambulance and how are those rigs staffed?

[JohnnyOV 2]

Our Vac does Duty crews. You sign up to drive, tech or attend.

When we get paged, you sign on saying EMT to the scene/HQ or Driver to HQ

4 pages = M/A

we run 3 ambulances. One duty crew on at a time, but if they feel its nessicary, they can split into 2's and run 2 buses. or if 2pts are ALS they can split Driver-medic, driver-medic, Driver-EMT (rarely ever happens tho).

Confusing, i know. Took me a while to get a hang of it.

Edited October 21, 2005 by EMSJunkie712

[Guest FiReQt905]

Elmsford Fire Department has both FIRE AND EMS Crews. For Fire everyone has to do 1 full week out of a month nights from 11pm-6am, this is only for routine runs obviously for fires it's a full department response no matter what time it is. For rescue we do it weekly, you are assigned 1 night every week to be on rescue crew from 11pm-6am.

[BFD1054 1,552]

Heres how it goes with my VAC....

The only "set" crews are for over-night's only. There are crews of 4-5 people (all EMT/driver's) that are on-duty from their homes from 11pm-5am, Sunday-Thursday. If the duty crew takes in a run and a 2nd comes in, its up to the rest of the members to wake up and get the rig out.

During the day, anyone who is around will hopfully take in calls. We are pretty lucky in that we have some members who are retirees or who work shifts and are around to take in daytime calls.

For mutual-aid, we usually go 3, maybe 4 pages, depending on how much time has gone by.

Each active member is assigned a pager/portable radio and an ID #. Members will sign-on to 60-Control and notify them of their status (i.e. EMT/Driver, EMT or driver) and if they are going to HQ or to the scene.

[JBJ1202 27]

Elmsford Fire Department has both FIRE AND EMS Crews.  For Fire everyone has to do 1 full week out of a month nights from 11pm-6am, this is only for routine runs obviously for fires it's a full department response no matter what time it is. For rescue we do it weekly, you are assigned 1 night every week to be on rescue crew from 11pm-6am.

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im interested in what FiReQt905 had to say about the fire crews that they provide. i understand this post was created for the EMS side, but i am just curious if other vol. departments have something similar to what elmsford has. thank you

[huzzie59 75]

Tarrytown VAC:

Set Day Crews Monday through Friday - 7am to 7pm augmented with at least one paid personnel.

Set Night Crews: Monday thriugh Friday - 7pm to 7am

Weekends are rotated by the 5 night crews (Labeled Crew 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5) plus 2 additional crews ( Crew 6 & 7). They are 24 hours shifts from 7am to 7am.

Started 20 or so years ago.... Today (Sat. 10/22) happens to be Crew #1, tomorrow Crew #2. Next Saturday Crew #3, etc.

Generally comes to about 15 weekend shift per year.

Backup calls/2nd calls are toned out for any available members.

TPD does the paging.

After 2 minutes with no responce, they are to go to Mutual Aid.

One set crew 24/7/365.

[Remember585 815]

To add on to BFD1054's comments....

CCVAC goes by the 60 Control "time frames" unless a member requests otherwise. For example, we get paged out, if no response, 2nd page after 3 minutes, and if still no response (VERY VERY RARE) a 3rd page and Mutual Aid will be started out. And Mike is dead-on - we are fortunate to have so many members with swing-shifts or whom are retired that handle so many of our calls. Not to mention we're blessed with Mike's boyish good looks and never-ending charm. (CAMPAIGN ANYONE????)

In Croton (this is funny) we are SUPPOSE to get 3 minutes to get a crew or the CPD tones us out again. After 2nd page with no crew, Mutual Aid is dispatched. Here's the problem. They almost always call OVAC even though we have asked time and time again for them to call 60 Control. We have our district split up for Mutual Aid coverage between Ossining & Cortlandt. The biggest problem we have is no commited crews. It's basically a free-for-all 24/7 now. Sometimes, a member will call CPD to say they are responding, and they either acknowledge you, ignore you, bite your head off or refuse to acknowledge you unless you are on the rig. We also have some Desk Officers who don't hear us responding that call Mutual Aid even though we're going. Topic hijacked enough I think....

I like the assigned crews - but having the pager call system is nice too, because it gives you some flexibility. I guess, in the interest of our clients, we should consider having staffed rigs all the time to cut down our response times.