Bullets
Forum Knucklehead
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But isn't a three to four person engine company responding to appropriately triaged calls just a more efficient use of available of personnel as opposed to assigning a second medic unit. Say that you're dispatched to a code/trauma/resp. distress call, I surrey hope that you're not trying to work that code with your two person ambulance crew. Assuming you don't have a mechanical compression device or a ventilator, one will have to bag and one will have to compress. That leaves you with no one to do...the rest. Instead of pulling a second medic crew and leaving their first due area uncovered, it will serve the community much better so send an engine, which probably wasn't going to be fighting a fire anyways, to assist the original medic.
No, its more efficient to have a bunch of BLS units, B/B Ambulances to respond to everything and then have a handful of Single or dual medic cars to respond to ALS coded calls and reduce the number of firemen need to cover the 5% of calls most cities actually do.
This would give you 3-4 providers on your worst regular calls, CPR. Realistically, if your EMTs are good, they can handle a trauma as wound care is a BLS skill.
Respiratorys don't require more than 3-4 providers