EMS systems similar to Kern County

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okayestEMT said:
http://www.jems.com/articles/supple...e-2014/tale-three-successful-ems-systems.html
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Clearly this means ATCEMS designed it, lol.

Look, I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you, clearly you're missing the point.

While I personally have not worked in, or for ATCEMS, you are a whopping 21 years old. When I went to paramedic school, 10 years or so ago, (making you...~11?) it was still a fairly prestigious system. In the years to come it has changed drastically, and has since lost much of the allure it once had. You worked for a county third service, cool. Did you even read what DeMedic was getting at?

Every system is a little different, everyone of them has its goods and bads. Third services are not the end all be all, it's whatever suits ya wherever it suits ya.Clearly, the article did posted was slightly dat, but I digress. Not here to knock ya, but simmer down and listen a bit.

ATCEMS was very cutting edge when I got my p card, and from what I hear, they're finally turning things back around, but when I think of them I think "urban EMS" (see: burnout), hope they do get back to what they were once viewed as. I'm sure they deserve it, and there are great people there.

FWIW, as a guy was is a "career paramedic", I have two systems outside of where I am now that I would ever consider moving away for. One being SCEMS in Delaware, and the other a very respected third service that isn't ATCEMS.

Again, to each their own, have a good one:).
 
VentMonkey said:
Clearly this means ATCEMS designed it, lol.

Look, I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you, clearly you're missing the point.

While I personally have not worked in, or for ATCEMS, you are a whopping 21 years old. When I went to paramedic school, 10 years or so ago, (making you...~11?) it was still a fairly prestigious system. In the years to come it has changed drastically, and has since lost much of the allure it once had. You worked for a county third service, cool. Did you even read what DeMedic was getting at?

Every system is a little different, everyone of them has its goods and bads. Third services are not the end all be all, it's whatever suits ya wherever it suits ya.Clearly, the article did posted was slightly dat, but I digress. Not here to knock ya, but simmer down and listen a bit.

ATCEMS was very cutting edge when I got my p card, and from what I hear, they're finally turning things back around, but when I think of them I think "urban EMS" (see: burnout), hope they do get back to what they were once viewed as. I'm sure they deserve it, and there are great people there.

FWIW, as a guy was is a "career paramedic", I have two systems outside of where I am now that I would ever consider moving away for. One being SCEMS in Delaware, and the other a very respected third service that isn't ATCEMS.

Again, to each their own, have a good one:).
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Im not trying to come across all fired up. I know first hand that a third service isn't all that its made out to be and Austin is not what it used to be. A lot of morale and staffing issues, medics who do nothing but complain, etc. There are definitely private agencies that have better paramedics than a lot of the ones who work for a public agency.
 
The thing with ATCEMS is that their recruitment policies are deliberately built to turn away a lot of the type-A personalities that a lot of paramedics have and that the industry fosters.
 
CALEMT said:
Haha its still during dispatches "respond on CDF command __" The official name is California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/ CAL FIRE. My oh my what a mouth full haha.
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A memo had to be put out after the transition to CAL FIRE stating for personnel not to use the term "CAL FIRE Command or TAC ##" over the radio to local government personnel because 1. They couldn't find CAL FIRE TAC ## on their radio and caused confusion on the fire ground. 2. CDFFP is still the official name with CAL FIRE being a nickname.

CALEMT said:
Also in regards to the OP in Tulare Co. and adjoining counties. The state fire engines (type 3 or wild land engines if you're not familiar) can be staffed with a ffpm thats a seasonal firefighter. If thats the case the engine will be a paramedic assessment engine. Assessment being the key word as the medic has no toys to play with, yes it does have a medic but it still acts as a BLS engine with paramedic assessment's if that makes any sense at all.
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I understand what you are saying but that is really stretching it with the term paramedic assessment engine. A paramedic assessment engine is an engine with at least one paramedic and paramedic gear. This is not the case. How can you effectively do a full assessment on someone with dizziness without a cardiac monitor or a glucometer for example? That person is not a FF/PM. He or she is a firefighter who happens to be a paramedic. I guess my point is I don't want people to think that CAL FIRE condones or rolls this way. He or she was hired to be a firefighter. They just happen to be a paramedic.

But then again...

CAL FIRE/Riverside Co. Fire did put a FFII/PM (with paramedic gear) on 2 type 3 wild land engines in the winter months during the last recession. Those 2 stations were staying open anyways and the county saved some money by downstaffing apparatus but still having paramedic service for those areas. This is not typical. It only happened because of the recession.

CALEMT said:
I believe they allow it in the sense of that ffpm whose a seasonal firefighter won't be a seasonal for long. Typically they get pickup as a permanent firefighter pretty quick. But I totally agree in the sense of having a AEMT of the state rides. The only constraint on why its strictly BLS is there isn't a whole lot of room to fit anything else medical wise. The type 3 engines are smaller than the type 1 (typical city engine) for the wild land therefore less room. Once you get everything required by the NFPA and CAL FIRE on the engine theres not a whole lot of room for anything extra.

In our medical compartment we had barely enough room for a "medical bag" (mainly trauma supplies) and the AED. To fit anything more than that you would need to ditch something that you can't get rid of (due to dept. policy or regulations) or get a bigger engine (which defeats the propose of smaller engines for wild land) its kind of a catch 22.

Also the method you've described will best work in rural counties such as Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, and Merced to where you can be way out in the sticks like I was. It wouldn't really work in lets say Riverside Co. where the ALS ambulance is less than 5 minutes away. Up where we were in a perfect fantasy to where CAL FIRE was staffed with AEMT's with the tools to preform intermediate patient care it works. Cause for us the nearest ALS ambulance was out of Porterville which was about a 1hr 15min - 1hr 30min away.

Unfortunately like I mentioned above its ideal for rural counties but not particularly feasible due to the compartment space/ availability on the wild land engines. Plus then you're really limiting to AEMT's and above to whats primarily a wild land firefighting job. Yes CAL FIRE is a all risk dept. but the primary job for a seasonal firefighter is wild land fire suppression. Thats why the minimum requirement is 18 years old, thats literally the minimum requirement. If you outfitted every state schedule B ride with AEMT's or above then that narrows your applicant pool plus you now have to staff and equip every schedule B engine (I can't get a exact number but its gotta be around 500 engines). Its a great idea and I can see CAL FIRE eventually going to something along the lines of this, but for the time being I don't see anything changing with staffing and equipment on wild land engines.
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Years ago, there was a rumor of CAL FIRE having (at the time) EMT-IIs on the wildland engines. It would be the permanent company officer who would be the EMT-II. That was the only feasible way to do it. It would mostly be used for other employees needing LALS on the fire ground but could be used for the general public. I don't know if the idea died or the state government moving slower than a slug but that was a rumor.
 
Generic said:
I understand what you are saying but that is really stretching it with the term paramedic assessment engine. A paramedic assessment engine is an engine with at least one paramedic and paramedic gear. This is not the case. How can you effectively do a full assessment on someone with dizziness without a cardiac monitor or a glucometer for example? That person is not a FF/PM. He or she is a firefighter who happens to be a paramedic. I guess my point is I don't want people to think that CAL FIRE condones or rolls this way. He or she was hired to be a firefighter. They just happen to be a paramedic.

But then again...

CAL FIRE/Riverside Co. Fire did put a FFII/PM (with paramedic gear) on 2 type 3 wild land engines in the winter months during the last recession. Those 2 stations were staying open anyways and the county saved some money by downstaffing apparatus but still having paramedic service for those areas. This is not typical. It only happened because of the recession.
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Makes sense, I could've worded it a little better.
 
CALEMT said:
Haha its still during dispatches "respond on CDF command __" The official name is California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/ CAL FIRE. My oh my what a mouth full haha.
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Similar vein, the official name of LACoFD is actually the "Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County"
 
CALEMT said:
This info is true, however it happened back around 05 I believe. Tulare county staffs engines with 1 company officer and the firefighters are paid call. So pretty much theres just one dude at the fire station. Meanwhile Cal Fire TUU (Tulare) is BLS staffed 3-0 (2 ff's 1 co) at 2 engine houses and 4-0 (3 ff's 1 co) at single engine houses. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of Tulare Co. FD is BLS. Tulare Co. is way underfunded as opposed to Cal Fire and in my opinion it would be better to contract with either Cal Fire again, or start a fire protection district with the adjoining cities (Porterville, Visalia, etc).

A little of topic this was, however Tulare Co. is similar to Kern Co. in the sense of fire is BLS and the ALS ambulance has scene/patient control when they arrive on scene.
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My dad worked for CDF TUU when they changed to Tulare County Fire. CDF too, was 1-0 staffed, and they browned out 30% of the stations just before the transition.
 
NPO said:
My dad worked for CDF TUU when they changed to Tulare County Fire. CDF too, was 1-0 staffed, and they browned out 30% of the stations just before the transition.
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The good ole days of 1-0 and 2-0 staffing.
 
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