Costa Mesa FD AO program

[FoleyArtist]

When did they go live with their program? I just saw a crew in their fancy badgeless new cadet light blues and CMFD “ambulance” rockers. Does that mean they are no longer a CARE eoa?

 

[Qulevrius]

The Mesa AOs are still CARE employees. They just moved from their CARE stations and rigs to in-house operations, using Mesa FD’s PAUs and wearing the baby blues. Happened about a month or so ago.

 

[Mufasa556]

Ugh...I hate SoCal EMS.

Does Costa Mesa want their own AO program so bad, but are still locked into their contract with care, that this is their work around?

 

[Qulevrius]

Not sure about the particulars. All I know is that CMFD started operating PAUs a while back, and (most probably) the city decided to cut their losses short with the CARE contract, by settling for CARE AOs instead of a full 3rd party ET programme. Otherwise, working with CMFD was always a goddamn nightmare. And now their ETs are, for the most part, staffed with new hires who had to submit a separate resume & pass an interview with the FD bigwigs. I’m just glad that dealing with Mesa Fire is a mutual aid thing and we don’t have to cover for their units anymore.

 

[Jim37F]

PAUs

?

 

[Qulevrius]

?

Paramedic Assessment Unit. It’s an OC thing, since they aren’t running squads.

 

[Jim37F]

Paramedic Assessment Unit. It’s an OC thing, since they aren’t running squads.

Is that like a Paramedic Engine?

My experience with LA Co definitions are that Paramedic Engines have at least 2 crew-members are Paramedics and can transport with a BLS ambulance as the medic squad and Paramedic Assessment Units (engines or trucks) have only 1 PM and still needs a dual medic unit to respond to transport ALS (if there's only a BLS ambulance on scene)

 

[Qulevrius]

Is that like a Paramedic Engine?

My experience with LA Co definitions are that Paramedic Engines have at least 2 crew-members are Paramedics and can transport with a BLS ambulance as the medic squad and Paramedic Assessment Units (engines or trucks) have only 1 PM and still needs a dual medic unit to respond to transport ALS (if there's only a BLS ambulance on scene)

It’s just a P-P box that all of them hated with passion. They didn’t have BLS boxes, but now since they have AOs, they converted them to ETs and will run as before (with ALS engines/trucks).

 

[Jim37F]

heh...makes me glad that if I'm gonna be in a dept. that doesn't really care that much about running EMS calls all day....we have a County Run Third Service EMS Agency that handles all the transports, we're just BLS first response. Quite a change of pace from working BLS ambo in LA/OC...

 

[wtferick]

Not sure about the particulars. All I know is that CMFD started operating PAUs a while back, and (most probably) the city decided to cut their losses short with the CARE contract, by settling for CARE AOs instead of a full 3rd party ET programme. Otherwise, working with CMFD was always a goddamn nightmare. And now their ETs are, for the most part, staffed with new hires who had to submit a separate resume & pass an interview with the FD bigwigs. I’m just glad that dealing with Mesa Fire is a mutual aid thing and we don’t have to cover for their units anymore.

No more having to wait outside on their command? Use to piss me off so much. Lol

 

[Qulevrius]

No more having to wait outside on their command? Use to piss me off so much. Lol

No more *anything* with CMFD. Not that OCFA are much better, but at least it isn’t just 6 firehouses with the same 18 crews staffed with Hitler Youth.