Response Times

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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We're always told it should be under 5 minutes, but what is your average response time.

We just got our first contract with a city, so the company really wants to set a good first impression. We have Paramedic First Responder units (Paramedics in Tahoes), BLS units, and ALS units parked around the city. For priority 1 calls, almost always a PFR and ALS unit will be dispatched.

The PFR usually has a 3-4 minute response time, and the second rig is allowed a 5 minute response time. Any responses over that time period need to be documented, and are flagged for review.

I know this isn't usually how it works in EMS though. I did ride-alongs with "That large national EMS company", and it we had some pretty crazy response times. We'd code a long distance to find the FF/Medics ready to go with the patient.

It's nice getting there and having people comment on your response time, and the city loves it too.

Any input on this one?
 
I think we average about 4 minutes or less. Last night, we had about a 30 second response time...call at the skilled nursing facility (our best customer) across the street from the firehouse during a drill. Our longest response times are wilderness calls up in the area I posted about a few weeks ago...it's at least a 10-15 minute drive, followed by a hike. Around town though, 4 minutes max is the norm.
 
We're pretty rural, so 15-20 minutes is a good response time for us. Assuming, of course, that the scene can be reached from a paved road.
 
Response time, meaning from time of dispatch till the requested unit arrives on scene? Or from time of dispatch till the requested unit actually responds..?

I live in a rural-wilderness area; from time of dispatch to arrival on scene of the farthest points of our primary coverage area is 10 to 15 minutes. Depends on physcial conditions. And keeping in mind that the farthest point that we are called to on initial or dual dispatch is 26 miles.

Average response time on the 741 calls in 2003 was 3.9 minutes. That is from time of dispatch till the unit actually responds.

On side notes... Nearest hospital is 25 miles, nearest trauma center is 61.5 miles.
 
In my county we have a 3-6-9 rule. From the time the call goes out we have 3 minutes to acknowlege the call, 6 minutes to confirm a crew, and 9 minutes to be enroute. We cover 110 square miles so some of the outer areas take 15-20 minutes by ambulance to get to. So hypotheticly we might have a responce time of 29 minutes. We almost always have a team sleeping at the squad builing so we are off the floor in about 1-2 minutes tops. And since most of our calls are in the village and not the mountains our overall time from call to arrival is usually 5-6 minutes tops.
 
I've been thinking about this post.

We have Medic-First-Responders in Tahoes. We have BLS and ALS units, stationed only two miles apart. It's a triangle of ALS with the BLS or PRF in the middle. Still, we have four minute response times. That's sitting on street corners, engines on, going before dispatch even finishes dispatching. Usually we even hear it over the PD radio 30 seconds before dispatch even starts.

A 3 minute response is normal, 4 is average, and you get in trouble for over 5. That's with engines going and 90% of the time a headstart before dispatch even dispatches it.

How the heck can you guys in the station get to a normal call in under 10?
 
Originally posted by MMiz@Jun 23 2004, 08:28 PM
How the heck can you guys in the station get to a normal call in under 10?
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Sleep in a T-shirt and have your pants sitting on top of your shoes next to the bed. When the call comes in, put on your pants and head out the door. Shoes can be put on in the car, and tied at the station.

Your comment about hearing the call before being dispatched is good. Has anyone else woken up out of a deep sleep to look at your pager and about 5 seconds later, it goes off? This has happened to me several times.

I also sleep with my scanner on in the other room. I've woken up several times and heard the start of a pursuit or shots fired. Wierd. :ph34r:
 
Originally posted by ffemt8978@Jun 24 2004, 01:56 AM
I also sleep with my scanner on in the other room. I've woken up several times and heard the start of a pursuit or shots fired. Wierd. :ph34r:
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You must be single. LOL :D

Chimp
 
We're not allowed to sleep on the job. ;)

We're dynamically re-positioned according to other ambulance's calls. When one goes out, we re-form, it's standard practice in private EMS. They dont page out the re-formations, and I've missed one or two. Thankfully my partner has always picked them up.

They made it so the scanner now goes over the speaker in the break room (before and after shifts), and I hate it. When I'm off work I like being off. It's bad enough I have this pager (Just a normal text one) that beeps. I turn it off when I'm not at work.
 
Your comment about hearing the call before being dispatched is good. Has anyone else woken up out of a deep sleep to look at your pager and about 5 seconds later, it goes off? This has happened to me several times.
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Yes, this has happened to me as well, and it's pretty weird. My scanner stays on 24/7, and there have even been times when I'll be dreaming about hearing a call on the radio, and then I wake up and it is actually being dispatched.
 
I recently (last 6 months) got a new pager and I keep waking up right before the tones go out and the siren goes off in the neighborhood... I was finally home during the day when we got a call and figured out why - when the pager is in the charger, the charger clicks right before tones go through - I think it's something to do with the power/charging or something - when it's out of the base all I hear is the first tone.

We have a 9 minute from dispatch to scene time, but that doesn't count first responders - the ambulance has to be on scene in 9 minutes. Sometimes our first responders are there after a minute or two, but it doesn't count! In my FD we are usually there in 3 - 5 minutes. In the ambulance corps, we are usually there just around 9 minutes unless it's our 3rd or 4th simultaneous call, then it takes longer because we have to muster up yet another crew.
 
Originally posted by MMiz@Jun 23 2004, 11:55 PM
We're dynamically re-positioned according to other ambulance's calls.
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"Dynamically re-positioned" :lol: :lol: :lol:

I like that!
 
Turnout pants have to be about the greatest invention for getting dressed in a hurry. :D I keep them right by the front door, with a t-shirt and socks by the bed. I can be out the door in about a minute even from a deep sleep.

We only get "advanced notice" if we happen to be in the station when a call comes in. The dispatch printer starts printing about 10 seconds before the tones go off. If you hear the printer going, you know a call's coming.

We also occasionally get a head's up from PD. All 911 calls go to the PD dispatcher (who's in the same building as our station), and if it's a FD call, they transfer it to the regional fire dispatch center. They'll usually roll one of their own units too though, and if anyone's in the station, they'll usually tell us that we're getting a call (or we get suspicious when we see a squad car take off Code 3).
 
Originally posted by SafetyPro@Jun 24 2004, 09:42 PM
Turnout pants have to be about the greatest invention for getting dressed in a hurry. :D I keep them right by the front door, with a t-shirt and socks by the bed. I can be out the door in about a minute even from a deep sleep.
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Oh how very true! :D

I don't like to take my turnout gear home, though, because of all the chemicals it gets exposed to at a fire. Even after a good washing, you can't get rid of everything toxic or hazardous.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, my dogs would think that my turnout gear is their new chew toy. :)
 
We're not allowed to take our fire turnout gear home in my department, because only Chiefs go straight to the scene - we have enough time to throw on our stuff while the chauffer pulls out the rig. Ambulance personnel are not supposed to take their gear home either, except for me, since I'm an officer and can therefore go straight to the scene.

At my vollie ambulance corps though, we all take our gear home and bring it with for a shift.
 
Originally posted by rescuelt@Jun 25 2004, 04:45 AM
We're not allowed to take our fire turnout gear home in my department, because only Chiefs go straight to the scene - we have enough time to throw on our stuff while the chauffer pulls out the rig. Ambulance personnel are not supposed to take their gear home either, except for me, since I'm an officer and can therefore go straight to the scene.

At my vollie ambulance corps though, we all take our gear home and bring it with for a shift.
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My department actually issues us EMT's those blue flight medic coveralls, complete with reflective striping. We wear them on all of our medical calls, including MVA's :(
 
I just found out from the state what our allowed response times are. Since we're considered a rural area, we have 45 minutes from the time of the call to arrive on scene. We get even more time if it's a wilderness call.
 
Originally posted by ffemt8978+Jun 25 2004, 09:52 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (ffemt8978 @ Jun 25 2004, 09:52 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-rescuelt@Jun 25 2004, 04:45 AM
We're not allowed to take our fire turnout gear home in my department, because only Chiefs go straight to the scene - we have enough time to throw on our stuff while the chauffer pulls out the rig. Ambulance personnel are not supposed to take their gear home either, except for me, since I'm an officer and can therefore go straight to the scene.

At my vollie ambulance corps though, we all take our gear home and bring it with for a shift.
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My department actually issues us EMT's those blue flight medic coveralls, complete with reflective striping. We wear them on all of our medical calls, including MVA's :( [/b][/quote]
We were all issued those coveralls....and I think only 3 people actually wear them. But we are all allowed to take gear home or leave it at the station, whatever we choose.
 
Originally posted by citizencain20@Jul 10 2004, 09:13 PM
We were all issued those coveralls....and I think only 3 people actually wear them. But we are all allowed to take gear home or leave it at the station, whatever we choose.
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Everyone in my department wears them, and I think that's great.

My problem with them is on the scene of an MVA. They don't provide much protection during extrication or working around broken glass and twisted metal.

I'm a firm believer in bunker gear on MVA's, especially if extrication is required.
 
The FD has a two piece turnout gear for EMTs... plasticky sort of hepa overalls and a separate jacket.

The ambulance corps has two options: All probies wear one-piece coveralls. When you are sworn in as a member, you can either stick with the coveralls (minus the "trainee" printed on the back) or you can get black tech pants and a white polo shirt with the corps emblem on the front and your cert level on the back (ex: CVAC EMT, CVAC EMT-CC, CVAC PARAMEDIC, CVAC DISPATCHER, etc). (CVAC = Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps)
 
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