Mesa apparatus question.

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eg153wftx

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If I am hearing correctly Mesa alarm is dispatching a "P R V" unit along with an engine and AMR on med calls. What is PRV?
 

dodgerboi84

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eg153wftx

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O K TRV. but why still send an engine and AMR guess the economy is better....on a tangent never could understand why FDs sent Quints and ladder trucks on med calls...
 

dodgerboi84

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It is a waste of money to send all three. I can see sending two apparatus so I suppose it makes sense when the engine is busy.


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ElitePhx

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TRV 203 I believe is an older Pierce engine. TRV stands for transitional response vehicle. They were brought in as 10 hour trucks back around 2012/2013 to fill busy times and take the load off of the engines. They are typically staffed by one EMT and one Paramedic (without the ability to deploy drugs). I think Mesa was even trying out putting a PA on one of these low acuity trucks...not sure if they ever did that or not. The TRV trucks would respond to low acuity minor medical calls such as slip and falls, nosebleeds, etc where drugs/IV interventions are not needed. Engines are staffed by a 4 man team (typically, unless they are a man down) which consists of 2 BLS/EMT and 2 ALS/medics and they would respond to not only fires but emergency medical calls as well (which make up about 90+% of their call volume)
 

bill71

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The Phoenix Valley is the only place I know of that sends Fire Trucks instead of Ambulances for medical calls. Phoenix Fire And Rural Metro (PMT/SW) are how it all started. Fire no longer has as many calls as they use to, so in order to maintain funding, they started taking over medical calls. In order to be like "The Big Dogs", (Phoenix Fire} the rest of the valley FD's followed. R/M EMS in order to keep contracts just followed along with it. After AMR bought everything and said "No, EMS should be lead", they started losing contracts to Maricopa Ambulance. Maricopa Ambulance is owned by the previous CFO of Old R/M, which left after the first bankruptcy filing. He left Arizona for five years after that. I'll let you all make that connection. This concept is called Fire Based EMS, which is very rare. Most systems are EMS based, being Fire supports EMS when needed. It's very hard to transport a patient on an Engine.
 

eg153wftx

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Yes Bill I can understand rolling engines on MVAs and Codes but back aches and bloody noses just a little far fetched. also it is my understanding that the "bread and butter" in the EMS business is inter facility non emergent transfers but with all these medical transport companies EMS is losing that revenue too since insurance and medicare/medicade would rather pay transport companies than the excessive cost of a staffed ambulance and FDs are not going to get in the "transport" business.
 

KB7MIB

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Buckeye Valley FD has an interfacility contract according to their website. They're probably the only one in the Valley that does.

John
Peoria
 

ElitePhx

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there are at least a handful of fire departments in the valley that run inter-facility transports that I am aware of. Definitely not the bread and butter where I work, ems calls are. Companies like AMR/Southwest....Inter-facility is definitely their bread and butter
 

djewel6

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The Phoenix Valley is the only place I know of that sends Fire Trucks instead of Ambulances for medical calls. Phoenix Fire And Rural Metro (PMT/SW) are how it all started. Fire no longer has as many calls as they use to, so in order to maintain funding, they started taking over medical calls. In order to be like "The Big Dogs", (Phoenix Fire} the rest of the valley FD's followed. R/M EMS in order to keep contracts just followed along with it. After AMR bought everything and said "No, EMS should be lead", they started losing contracts to Maricopa Ambulance. Maricopa Ambulance is owned by the previous CFO of Old R/M, which left after the first bankruptcy filing. He left Arizona for five years after that. I'll let you all make that connection. This concept is called Fire Based EMS, which is very rare. Most systems are EMS based, being Fire supports EMS when needed. It's very hard to transport a patient on an Engine.

I can tell you from when I ran back East its normal dispatch protocol in the Washington DC COG Metro area that closest apparatus is sent (Engine, Ladder, Etc all carry minimum 1 Medic sometimes 2) Along with closest EMS.. (Almost all the immediate area in NOVA meaning Fairfax, Arlington counties and City of Alexandria are all ALS Transport they have no BLS trucks anymore even for Ambulances) and its ALS only Daytime in Prince William County VA as well as Montgomery County MD where they are hybrid (Both Jurisdictions have Volunteers Nights Weekends and Holidays to cover most but both locales have paid some paid 24/7 ALS transports).. I can tell you from my time in Fire EMS back in that area the overall logic of the Medical Directors was until you know what you have you don't risk undercutting needed response.. Yes it definitely puts a lot of trucks on the road sometimes needlessly but its a CYA logic I suspect.. Besides honestly with the increase in obesity Im sorry to say sometimes a 2 man crew cant get a patient on the stretcher (even the good ole power stretchers) by themselves. Its one thing to move a 150-200 lb patient with 2 people but when your dealing with some obese 350lb patient who even simply blew out his knee youre going to need lifting assistance..

On a sidenote I actually think not having some BLS trucks is not necessarily wise as it creates the same issue many all ALS agencies see which is providers not getting enough skills useage because EVERY Truck has at minimum 2 NREMT-I (or sometimes 1 I and 1 P) and skills can and do degrade when not used on a regular basis..
 

thomasbillman1

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engines for med calls

we did the samething in NJ, the engine was mostly for man power to assist with patient removal. The other thing I ask is why send a ladder truck out for meds or even for accidents, now your taking a large pc of equipment out of service when there is only a few out there. Why do engines or have a heavy rescue truck set up for 1 on east side of Mesa and 1 for west side of mesa?
 

KB7MIB

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IIRC, I once heard that on a 4-person crew with 2 medics and 2 EMT's, the medics are assessing and treating the patient, 1 of the EMT's is writing everything down, and the other EMT is getting as much info from family or anyone else who knows the patient as they can. It helps to spread the workload out.

I've read that Glendale runs all of their engines and ladders as ALS. I don't know what the other departments have percentage wise.

John
Peoria
 
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