Required Training for Arlington FD

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Updated: Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 at 22:32 CDT

Ready for more than fire: Required training boosts emergency

medical skills in Arlington

By Christy

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

ARLINGTON -- A man was walking on a gym treadmill when his

breathing and his heart stopped. He was having a heart attack.

Firefighter Gerald Randall arrived and administered an

intravenous line. Another firefighter inserted a breathing tube into the man's

throat.

On the way to the hospital, he began to recover.

It was December, and Randall was one of only three emergency

medical technician- intermediates in the Arlington Fire Department. As the lone

EMT-I at the scene, he was the only one trained to work with his paramedic

partner to perform the advanced life-saving procedures for the man, who

survived.

Now, 57 more Arlington firefighters have upgraded their

medical training to EMT-I, which is more advanced than basic EMT and a step

below paramedic.

By 2002, the Fire Department plans to have nearly 230

firefighters certified as EMT-Is. Another 41 firefighters are already trained as

paramedics. The upgrade to EMT-I, which began in January, is required for

everyone with a rank of battalion chief and below.

The advanced training will bring specialized skills to a scene

more quickly, fire Lt. Jim Self said.

" The skills that it brings, in a lot of cases, is the

difference between life and death, " he said.

" It's almost a quantum leap compared to basic EMT training. I

remember being the only medic with a bunch of basics, and I had to do all the

skills myself. That takes a lot of time, and usually, time is our enemy. Now, in

five minutes, we're done and it's kind of like, `OK, where's the ambulance?' "

Arlington firefighters already are trained as EMT basics. But

EMT-I skills, including hooking up IVs, administering some drugs and inserting

breathing tubes, are considered crucial when someone has a life-threatening

injury or illness, Battalion Chief Jeff Holloway said.

Nationally, a majority of emergency medical services are

provided by firefighters, said Burke, a spokesman with the International

Association of Fire Fighters in Washington, D.C.

Firefighters are on duty around the clock and are accustomed

to leaving dinner or their beds to rescue people from fires and confined spaces

and the like.

" It's a natural fit, " Burke said. " Their attitude and training

is aimed at saving lives and property. "

Faster response

Many departments in Texas, including several in the Metroplex,

are upgrading firefighters to paramedics because they are forgoing private

ambulance services, said Jimmy Dunn, an EMS regional director with the Texas

Department of Health.

Arlington uses a " first responder " program, which means both

an ambulance from Rural/Metro, a private service, and a fire unit are dispatched

to accidents and certain other high-priority medical calls.

Because the Fire Department has 16 strategically placed

stations compared with Rural/Metro's five, firefighters usually arrive minutes

ahead of the ambulance, Holloway said.

Officials estimate that about 60 percent of Arlington's fire

calls are medical-related.

" Now firefighters are realizing that the skills that really

matter on a first-responder level are EMT-I, " Holloway said. " It's cost

effective, and it makes a clinical difference for the citizens. Those are skills

that really make a difference when somebody's dying. "

Texas began requiring that firefighters have EMT certification

within a year of their hire date about 10 years ago, according to Fort Worth

fire Capt. Randy , a coordinator for the Fire Academy at Tarrant County

College.

Holloway said Arlington adopted the EMT requirement for its

firefighters in 1983. Before that, most firefighters had only basic first-aid

training.

" We're going through an evolution again, but this is a much

bigger step, " Holloway said.

The city decided to require the upgrade to EMT-I last year

after an independent consultant reviewed the Fire Department's procedures.

The department will not require new hires to be EMT-Is.

" That would really restrict the pool, " Holloway said, adding

that recruits will be added to the training schedule.

Using new skills

Texas has about 3,700 EMT- Is, more than 21,500 EMTs and

almost 12,600 paramedics, including firefighters and people who work in

ambulances and hospitals, Holloway said.

EMTs are taught basic life- support skills such as

administering CPR, controlling major hemorrhaging, handling childbirth and

treating heat stroke and cold exposure. They also handle allergic reactions and

diabetic emergencies.

Becoming an EMT-I requires a minimum of 96 hours of classroom

instruction and 50 hours each of hands-on training at a hospital and in an

ambulance. It is usually considered a stepping stone to becoming a paramedic,

Holloway said.

Paramedics, who must complete at least 1,000 additional hours

of training, are able to administer more drugs and perform advanced cardiac

resuscitation.

The city is training firefighters for EMT-I in groups of about

18 every four months, with priority given to those whose EMT certifications are

about to expire.

" We're doing all the training on-duty so we won't have any

overtime costs, " Holloway said. " It's not always pleasant to have to adjust

staffing, but everybody's really pitching in and doing a good job. "

Arlington firefighter Eddy Saldivar recently received his

EMT-I certification and has used his new skills often during his shifts at

Station No. 6 on South Street.

Some of the people he has assisted, including a woman who

suffered major head injuries in an accident and a man who had a heart attack,

did not survive. But Saldivar said he knows that his advanced training means

more people have a chance.

" Now, we can establish an IV before the ambulance gets on the

scene, and that's really important because if the person starts deteriorating,

we can push medications a lot faster, " he said.

Christy ,

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