Operations

Mesa FD Fields Smaller Units for Non-Emergency Calls
Average fire department response times in Mesa, Arizona, have increased by 27 seconds in the last two years, from 3:39 to 3:56. Mesa is also terribly understaffed and woefully under-equipped. Slower response times, insufficient manpower and an aging and inadequate fleet all have the potential to be a PR nightmare, but Mesa Fire Department has done a remarkable job turning lemons into lemonade with several recent initiatives to educate the public about their predicament and, at the same time, put more response units on the road in an innovative and cost-effective way.

Crosswalk Reduces Redundancies in Wildland Urban Interface Training
Most fire protection in this country is provided by urban, suburban and rural fire departments that have to cross-train their firefighters in specialized wildland firefighting techniques in order to safely and effectively respond in the WUI. Now, there is a way to accomplish that cross-training less expensively by using the Skills Crosswalk developed by the National Fire Academy.

Facing Tough Times? How to Guide the Community Toward Informed Decision-Making
By Stewart Gary
Nationally, economic news is discouraging across the board. The problem is not simply one of “not enough revenue,” but one of systemic imbalances. Weak and eroding revenue sources are on a collision course with increasing costs of doing business. In this challenging environment, are your stakeholders – both above and below you — prepared not just to weather the storm, but also to come out of it changed for the better?

New Course Teaches Future Change-Makers How to Work Faster and Smarter
How does a fire chief or EMS manager obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to measure organizational performance, identify operational processes, analyze data and make decisions that result in improved performance? For the first time this year, you can do so by attending a week-long course called the EMS Performance Improvement Academy.

True Quality Comes from Within
By John Becknell
Late on a recent Saturday evening, my friend called 911 for help. Fortunately for him, he lives in a large urban area that boasts of one of America’s premier EMS systems that is well-noted for its innovative design, cardiac arrest survival rates, rapid response times and successful, self-supporting financial model.

New Britain EMS Saves Lives and $$s Without Running Hot
Forty-four people died in crashes involving fire and EMS vehicles in 2006. Of those, 28 died as a result of crashes in which the emergency vehicle was running hot, with lights and siren, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which calls speeding “one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes.” An EMS veteran who has seen his share of speeding-related motor vehicle accidents, New Britain EMS CEO Bruce Baxter did not want his medics to become a NHTSA statistic.

8Tips & Best Practices for Using Emergency Personnel as Intelligence Sensors
By Michael Petrie
The use of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel as intelligence sensors or information collectors to provide information to Terrorism Early Warning Groups (TEWGs) and other local and state government intelligence fusion centers is recommended by numerous academic papers, professional articles and presentations, and US Department of Homeland Security best-practice documents. These documents identify EMS personnel as valuable intelligence sensors in part because they have access to locations not routinely available to law enforcement or intelligence communities that may contain indicators of terrorism. This article offers tips on how best to use emergency personnel in this capacity.

Budgeting Tool Available for Rural Ambulance Services
By Nels D. Sanddal, MS, REMT-B
Ben Franklin is credited with saying “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Unfortunately, saving a penny is sometimes difficult. In fact, it is nearly impossible if you don’t have a solid understanding of your budget. For the past year, managers of rural ambulance services have gotten some help from a standardized budgeting tool designed to assist them in developing an accurate and meaningful budget.

CMS Changes Signature Requirements for 2008
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) periodically updates its rules and regulations governing ambulance reimbursement. This year, the most significant rule change affects the conditions under which Medicare will accept a claim for ambulance transportation without the signature of the Medicare beneficiary.

San Diego Evacuations Test Emergency Systems
More than 500,000 people were evacuated in San Diego County during the October fires, making it the largest evacuation in state history, and one of the largest evacuations ever in America. Considering its magnitude, officials with both the city and county said the evacuations proceeded smoothly thanks to several newly adopted protocols and technologies, as well as a regional approach to emergency management.

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