Fire Department dealing with ballooning number of medical aid responses

Energetic City Sept. 15:

Since agreeing to assist the B.C. Ambulance Service two and a half years ago, the Fort St. John Fire Department has seen a much higher number of requests than expected. In September 2009 a First Responder agreement was signed, stating that the Fire Department would only be contacted as a last resort for medical aid incidents and lift assists. That meant they would only be called if no other ambulances were available. In 2009, before the agreement, the Fire Department responded to 25 requests for assistance. In 2010 there were 99. At that time they would provide basic life support to the injured, but would not provide transportation.In the first seven months of 2011, that number has skyrocketed. Between January and July this year, 340 requests for assistance were made. The Department says they are now spending most of their time responding to calls that aren't fire related. Of the incidents so far in 2011, only 52 per cent were related to a fire. Fire Chief Fred Burrows says these numbers indicated a significant decrease in B.C. Ambulance's ability to keep staffed ambulances in Fort St. John. He adds the Fire Department is currently working with the Ambulance Service to make sure they are providing sufficient service. They plan to develop areas of responsibility, which will later be presented to council.  The Department is also anticipating the future operation of a new phone system which will classify medical response calls. They are just waiting on finalization from the operating system providers. At Monday night's city council meeting, councillors voted to try and get a meeting with the Minister of Health to discuss the issue.

----------

Fire Department Operated by the City, the Fort St. John Fire department provides 18,000 residents with fire suppression, rescue services, first responder medical calls, building inspections and prevention and education programs. The Department's 19 full-time employees and 13 volunteer firefighters provide these services to a 27 square mile area around Fort St. John and five miles north, south and east of the City.