SHAC7301

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Posts posted by SHAC7301

  1. Posted · Edited by SHAC7301

    Sleepy Hollow had bought the Ferno Excalibur (2) 5 or so years ago. They were very lightweight..some kind of carbon-fiberglass composite. They proved to be very temperamental, especially when it came time to release the legs. Seems that the composite had alot of "give" and you couldn't tell if the handle was going to release. We checked with Ferno and they had stated that there had been a "voluntary recall" of the Excaliburs and that we could have done a one-for-one trade for a new (different) model.....unfortunately we found out too late. They did volunteer to give us $1000 off the purchase of two new Fernos

    We decided to replace both Ferno's a little over a year ago. We looked at the Ferno Flex and the Stryker Rugged...probably to of the more popular designs around. Briarcliff was using a ProFlex on their new rig and Ossining was running Strykers. Briarcliff's reviews were mixed, but OVAC was fairly positive about the Strykers.

    We found that there was really no difference in cost. The Stryker was heavier (slightly), but seemed to be more durable. The Ferno was lighter, but (again) the leg release was temperamental.

    The bottom line was that we were not in the mood to bench press a patient multiple times to release the legs....

    We tried out a brand new Stryker for a few months and ended up buying two of them. Most companies will lend you a demo for a few weeks to try out on your rigs.

    PM me if you need contact info for the company reps...I'd be happy to help.

  2. Posted · Edited by SHAC7301

    Cal (Rob)

    I think that there is a basic point that we are all missing here. Not all WMD attacks would be easily identifiable at the start of the incident. A dirty bomb would initially look like a conventonal explosion. Biological coud go on for days without being properly identified. Chemical would probably look like some type of unknown MCI (unless there is an obvious vapor cloud).

    We are so far behind the power-curve on electronic identification (detectors) that you would probably have to wait for a true Hazmat unit to arrive to find out what we had. Most trucks don't even have radiation detectors. Hopefully we would not have contaminated ourselves by then.

    So, many of us would probably already be there by the time we figured out that it was a WMD attack.

    The bottom line is that if you see :unsure: alot of bodies lying around with no clear cause of death or injury, you may want to back the hell up and call for the Calvary!!!!

  9. Posted

    EMS rescues are commonly seen in many other areas of the country. Going south from NY.....NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC, just to name a few states. The "squads" do ALS/BLS, Heavy Rescue and even fight fires as rescue companies or squads. All basic and advanced certifications must be met, including FFI and FFII for those squads which participate in firefighting operations.

    The Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad (CARS) provides primary rescue and emergency medical services to the City of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia and most of Albemarle County. They are all-volunteer and responded to over 16,000 calls for service in 2004.

  10. Posted

    Police, Fire and EMS all face this growing problem. I should know....I have been driving a police car, ambulance or fire truck since 1993. Someone earlier said it best....people just don't care. The world revolves around them and how dare us to delay their commute. Of course, these are the same people who will complain about our response times to their own emergencies.

    The bottom line is....drive with caution....don't become a headline, defendant or statistic

  14. Posted

    To repeat my point...it works for us, it may not work for everyone.

    We are lucky in that we have not had a problem rolling our rigs for years now. The flycar(s), as previously discussed, have served their purposes..they are first response vehicles. The ambulances are rolling in a matter of minutes. Flycar(s) EMTs are additional positions on our weekly crew schedule....If my family member is lying on the floor in arrest, I'd like to have a EMT working on him with a complete set of BLS gear (+Defib) ASAP....The designated crew will be close behind with the rig...we maintain radio and nextel communication with each other once the tones go off... I have no problem with a EMT, with BLS gear and PPE, responding directly to the scene (if they are nearby). The designated driver and crew know where they are to go (to get the rig).

    The state DOH would not have OK'd the certification of these vehicles (BLS EASVs-Flycars) if they did not see any value in them.

    But..again...the first priority of any agency should be to roll their rigs consistantly and expeditiously...once you demonstrate your ability to do that, the flycar may not be a bad option...

  15. Posted

    Again...it doesn't work for everyone, but in Sleepy Hollow's case, the response times for the ambulances actually decreased after we put the fly car(s) into service. One of my rigs is out on a call now where the crew (minus the crew chief) was in the building when the tones went off. The rig and the fly car responded at the same time from diferent ends of the village. Now if a second call comes in (it happened yesturday), the crew chief will split the crew (they have five in service right now) and respond back to Ambulance HQ (lights and siren) to get the second rig or respond to the second scene if a backup crew marks in service (all EMTs and some drivers have portable radios). The system worked great yesturday. It has taken some time for us to "fine tune" our system, but it works well for us.

    And to answer an earlier question/comment..yes, we do occasionally pick up a "walking" crew member with the flycar...it just happened minutes ago...response time was not affected...the crew chief knows not to deviate from the most direct response route

    Personal note.....

    I was in the Tahoe last year and responded directly to the scene of a unconscious/unresponsive in Pocantico Hills. The ambulance crew marked enroute to the ambulance HQ while I was enroute to the scene. A Mt. Pleasant Police officer and I were able to revive the patient (she wasn't breathing when we arrived). The ambulance arrived expeditiously and we transported the patient. She walked out of the hospital weeks later.....

    The system worked in that case...

  16. Posted

    Sleepy Hollow has two flycars...2003 Tahoe and a 1999 Ford Crown Vic.

    Both are compliance with Part 800.21 regs governing EASVs (waiting for DOH decals for Crown Vic)

    Tahoe is the Crew Chief's vehicle...it is first due to all medical aids...defib, reeves, folding backboards, jumpkits, O2, MCI gear, etc..Official tags, state cert. and county # (7310)

    Crown Vic is the Captain's Car (yeah..I know..I am spoiled)..just received it this winter from the village and its equipment is virtually the same as the Tahoe (Part 800)...official tags, state cert. and county # (7311)

    A lot of work went into the acquisition of these vehicles and there are strict standards in place for their use. We had to demonstrate our ability to roll the ambulances consistantly and expeditiously for the Village (we are not incorporated...we are a department under the mayor like fire and police) to even consider them. They are not cheap to purchase, outfit and operate..the Tahoe was new and the Crown Vic was handed down from the Villlage Administrator..

    They work for us...medical care is initiated more quickly than ever before...response times for the ambulances have decreased, not increased. This we attribute to other factors such as manpower levels, duty crews and alot of people who won't leave the darn ambulance building!!!!

    Four wheel drive is a godsend during the winter and on the off-road calls.

    They also give the Crew Chief and Captain the ability to coordinate a response via the various radios (low/VHF/UHF).

    They also have helped with recruitment and retention and have "motivated" people to become EMTs and Corps officers.

    EASVs or BLS Flycars will not work for everyone or every agency, but they do work for us. The bottom line, as you all have mentioned, is our ability to roll the ambulances in our respective units 24X7 and cover the calls.

  17. Posted

    Yes, somedic, I have seen jealousy. That is something that we all have to strive to be above....it has never gotten to the point of units not wanting to work together...more like teasing, friendly competition or occasional jokes...

    Every major local, state and federal agency I know of has a special unit, or two or three. I see more and more being created and have never seen any closed down due to bad blood......bad budgets, but not bad blood.

  18. Posted

    OK..here is the perspective of a volunteer EMS Captain and a paid Law Enforcement Agent/Tactical EMT..

    You are correct in saying that agencies, paid or volunteer, which have a difficult time with call-coverage should first solve that problem before they venture into specialty team creation. Our duty is to cover all calls (within reason).

    EMS will never be the lead agency for HAZMAT, WMD, SWAT, ESU, etc..EMS will serve as a team member, both on the agency and individual level. EMS, on these units, usually will serve as a support element, with minimal exposure (on average) to the "line of fire," but may be asked to operate in a dangerous environment (with the appropriate equipment, training and support).

    EMS Specialty Teams, however, do serve a function in a world that is more and more dangerous and violent (WMD, Terrorism, etc.). There is a need for onscene medical support and expertise for these incidents, as well as simple (if you can call them that) search warrants and violent EDPs. The law enforcement side does benefit from the immediate assistance and seldom helps EMS dirrectly, but there are indirrect benefits to EMS involvement in specialty teams. One is the simple benefit to recruitment for EMS agencies who do have these teams. Most public safety people love specialty units...Heavy or Tech Rescue, SWAT, ESU..etc. This can aid in recruitment and retention. It also provides to the communities that we are sworn to protect a level of enhanced protection and expertice. Jealousy will happen with some members, but the need should overrule any "bad feelings."

    I have treated fire and police at these specialty incidents and I have been treated, so I can not say enough to emphasize the need to have medical providers who are trained to handle and, if neeeded, operate under these circumstances.

    So if the agency has the resouces to cover their calls, a specialty team, if there is a need in their area, is a great idea.

  20. Posted

    Good point...we did have 01, 02, 03 officer numbers two years age (ie. SHAC 7301)...when we contacted the county to update the CAD, a lieutenant, speaking on behalf of Mike Volk, stated that officers started at 11...like the FD Chiefs..with the Capt or EMS Chief being 11 (73-11)....non-officer members to begin at 20 (73-20, 73-21 etc..)....only vehicles to use single digits 1 thru 10 (73-B-1)...

    We changed our whole member numbering system because of this (all officers and EMTs+plus some drivers are issued portables with identifiers)....

    He stated that this "standardization" began in the North County and DES wanted everyone to convert...

    Hope he was right, because we (Sleepy) did!!!