Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

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Emergencies, Dial 9-1-1

Paramedic Engine Companies

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Ross Valley Fire Department provides Emergency Medical Services for the Town of Ross,Town of San Anselmo, Town of Fairfax, and Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District, on Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) levels utilizing transport Paramedic Ambulances provided by Ross Valley Paramedic Authority.

Beginning in 2005, Ross Valley Fire Department took a step forward in providing more efficient and advanced medical care to the community with the addition of Paramedic Engine Companies.  The Engine Company Paramedic program provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) level medical care in a more timely fashion to the citizens, by converting three Engine Companies into Paramedic Engines.  These engine companies carry a full complement of paramedic equipment and typically one firefighter/paramedic. When staffed with a paramedic, these engine companies are able to administer advanced life support to critically ill or injured patients when seconds count, while performing all of the fire suppression and rescue capabilities of a Type I Municipal Fire Engine.

40 Years of EMSIn the last 40 years, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responses have grown faster than any other emergency response.

This is accomplished by responding the closest Engine company to provide paramedic service and the closest ambulance to provide transportation to the appropriate hospital. Currently, Ross Valley Fire Department operates out of four fire stations with three Medic Engine companies and one Battalion Chief.  All fire suppression personnel are currently trained to the EMT-1 or EMT-Paramedic level.

A recent review of the EMS statistics for the past two years shows an average of approximately 4000 medical aid calls per year with 764 being cardiac related and 148 were cardiac arrests.  Two thousand of the patients treated are critical care patients requiring advanced life support.  Ross Valley Fire Department's three engine companies have average response times of three to five minutes.  This program will provide an even greater level of life-saving service to residents and visitors by decreasing the length of time for ALS care to reach patients.

Between 1990 and 2010, nearly 80 percent of all emergency responses in the Ross Valley have been related to Medical Emergencies - EMS.  During this unprecendented period of change, Ross Valley Fire Department has adopted new technologies and training, like Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and Paramedic training for many of our Firefighter EMTs.

Ross Valley Paramedic Authority

Since 1984, Ross Valley Paramedic Authority has provided paramedic transport ambulances to residents of all Ross Valley communities from Corte Madera to Fairfax,  To deliver the highest levels of emergency care, the RVPA now also provides training, medical direction, and financial support to Ross Valley Fire Department, allowing firefighter paramedics to be stationed at fire stations. This reduces the critical response time required to deliver critical care, and increases the chances for critically sick and injured patients to survive and recover.

Ross Valley Paramedic Authority (RVPA) is an example of communities working together to deliver a vital life-saving service in a cost-effective fashion.   Advanced Life Support paramedic care is a service above and beyond routine ambulance transport.  The RVPA, in essence, brings the hospital emergency room to the patient.

RVPA paramedics are trained and equipped to provide advanced, life-saving care wherever it's needed, 24/7/365. Firefighter Paramedics arrive on the scene of all reported fires and medical emergencies within minutes - in critical situations, this can mean the difference between life and death. Medical intervention is provided at the scene and the patient is then transported to the emergency room in our state-of-the-art ambulance transport units.

EMT and Paramedic

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

All Ross Valley Fire Department firefighters are Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT).  An EMT is a trained professional who responds to emergency medical situations, such as car accidents, fires, or injuries occurring in homes or workplaces.  Becoming an EMT requires nearly six months of specialized training, as well as an internship in a hospital emergency room and on a transport ambulance.  EMT's deliver a standard of care known as Basic Life Support (BLS), and perform life saving skills like Automated External Defibrillators, CPR, bleeding control, splinting, oxygen therapy and administration of epi-pens.  Many assume that an EMT is a Paramedic, but this is not the case.  EMTs are classified in levels, depending upon their degree of training.  In California, Paramedics are EMT-Ps.  Since firefighters are generally the first to arrive at the scene of an accident, EMT training allows first responders to assess medical situations and stabilize patients for transport.  Patients with more severe illnesses or injuries often require the ALS care provided by Paramedics for further stabilization and transport

Paramedic (EMT-P)

Paramedics, or EMT-Ps, have more training than an EMT.  Paramedic training takes at least 18 months, includes much longer internships in an emergency department and hospital specialty areas like labor and delivery, and significantly more field training on a transport ambulance.  Paramedics are able to diagnose and treat a larger range of injuries and illnesses, and can deliver many lifesaving drugs to patients in the field.  In addition to the use of manual defibrillators and cardioversion, in Marin, Paramedics read and assess 12 lead EKGs to help make early determination of heart attacks in the field, delivering patients to the appropriate hospital more efficiently and better stabilized for rapid care by physician specialists.  Paramedics perform Advanced Life Support (ALS), which also includes advanced airway management techniques like endotracheal intubation, needle thoracostomy, and can administer IV fluids and drugs.

Town of San Anselmo    -    Town of Fairfax    -    Town of Ross    -    Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District