Toronto EMS

[EJB]

Hullo.

After a 10 year or so lack of interest in monitoring anything Toronto save the OPP I have decided to get my radio id's back up to date. I have a question about the numbering protocalls.

IIRC Toronto is still divided by 4 zones, Yonge and Eglinton. North East stations begin with 20, SE is 40, NW is in the teens and SW are in the 30's.

As it was explained to me he BLS cars would reflect the station that they are in while the ALS car numbers are figured out by adding 40 to their first two numbers of the actual car.

So in 18 station lets say they have 2 units. And let's say that the ALS Cars last two numbers where 69. So ALS units would be called 5869, 18 station plus 40.
And lets say the BLS car at 18 station's last 2 numbers are 25 so BLS car number is 1825.

North east ALS cars would be station number plus 40, station 24's ALS cars would be 64xx and BLS would be 24xx.
SW station 32 ALS car would be 72xx, BLS would be 32xx
SE calls would be 45 station, 85xx, BLS would be 45xx.,

Now as I look to populate my scanners RIDS I noticed that there are some I'm guessing newer stations that begin with 50, For instance 52 station, would BLS use the stations numbers like BLS would be 52xx and would ALS crews number would be 92xx?

Hopefully someone here can help me out.

TIA

ErIC

 

[VA3ADP]

Hullo.

After a 10 year or so lack of interest in monitoring anything Toronto save the OPP I have decided to get my radio id's back up to date. I have a question about the numbering protocalls.

IIRC Toronto is still divided by 4 zones, Yonge and Eglinton. North East stations begin with 20, SE is 40, NW is in the teens and SW are in the 30's.

As it was explained to me he BLS cars would reflect the station that they are in while the ALS car numbers are figured out by adding 40 to their first two numbers of the actual car.

So in 18 station lets say they have 2 units. And let's say that the ALS Cars last two numbers where 69. So ALS units would be called 5869, 18 station plus 40.
And lets say the BLS car at 18 station's last 2 numbers are 25 so BLS car number is 1825.

North east ALS cars would be station number plus 40, station 24's ALS cars would be 64xx and BLS would be 24xx.
SW station 32 ALS car would be 72xx, BLS would be 32xx
SE calls would be 45 station, 85xx, BLS would be 45xx.,

Now as I look to populate my scanners RIDS I noticed that there are some I'm guessing newer stations that begin with 50, For instance 52 station, would BLS use the stations numbers like BLS would be 52xx and would ALS crews number would be 92xx?

Hopefully someone here can help me out.

TIA

ErIC

You raise a pretty good question there Eric. I have also been wondering the same thing but that theory you had about ALS, BLS and station numbering sounds about right. While monitoring both TFS and TEMS on two sperate scanners a while back, I heard a call with 4000. Once fire rolled up they advised that had EMS 900 on scene. Not sure if the 40 series are 900 units.

Hope you had a safe and happy Christmas and new year.

Happy Scanning

Michael

 

[Enjoi19]

Wikipedia actually has an oddly good amount of info about some of the numbering...

• 5XX - Paramedic Supervisor, Rapid Response, Special Operations
• 4XX,8XX - Ambulance, West
• 9XX - Ambulance, East
• ESUXX - Emergency Support Unit

There's a good list there as well about what the district 5 stations are!

I'll have to listen more carefully and see if I can piece the numbers together a bit. I generally monitor EMS on a separate scanner to piece together calls I hear on Fire - just sort of half listening and if i hear someone at the same call, listen a bit more carefully.

 

[exkalibur]

Almost accurate.

5xx are units that belong to Special Operations. This includes Tactical Medics, Support Medics (though they go by ESUxx), Bariatric Medics, Critical Care, etc - basically anything that isn't a regular ambulance. Ambulances will be labeled 5xx and supervisors identify as D5A, D5B, etc... These units hang out on A5-Supv and B8-SpOps depending who they are and what they're doing.

4xx units are BLS (PCP)
8xx units are BLS (PCP)
9xx are ALS (ACP)

Their number is codified in their over-the-air callsign along with their station number. So for example, BLS unit 809 is stationed at 13 station so their callsign on the air is 1309. If they were an ALS unit posted at 32 station, their callsign would be 7209 and their truck would be 909. BLS units start with 1-4 and ALS 5-8.

Special Ops used to identify as 62xx, so Tac Medic trucks were 588 and 591; they'd be 6288 and 6291 since their station used to be 22 station. It's since been renumbered to 58 station, and now they just use their vehicle number instead of a callsign.

There's a few other non-standard ones on there such as "CP-01/02/03 etc". Those are Community Paramedicine units that are on the old A8-Alrt2 group. There's others called X-1, X-2, etc... I'm not too sure who they are, but they hang out on A5-Supv and seem to respond to LTC facilities and hospitals (maybe a COVID unit of some sort?)

 

[Enjoi19]

You guys may have the answers to this EMS related one - what’s the difference between all the codes? Alpha, delta, echos, etc. Been listening a little more on my second scanner lately and haven’t quite figured it out yet.

 

[VA3ADP]

Toronto uses MPDS for CAD/Call assignments.

Alpha	Basic Life Support	Cold (single unit)
Bravo	Basic Life Support	Hot (multiple units)
Charlie	Advanced Life Support	Cold (single unit)
Delta	Advanced Life Support	Hot (multiple units)
Echo	Advanced Life Support and

 

[Enjoi19]

Thanks a ton @Air11! That answers a ton of questions now that i can lookup protocols too. Appreciate it!

 

[VA3ADP]

Thanks a ton @Air11! That answers a ton of questions now that i can lookup protocols too. Appreciate it!

Anytime! It would be much easier if Toronto still used the provincial system (code 1-4) But eventually once FleetNet is upgraded, all the paramedic services in Ontario will be switching to MPDS.

 

[2Dis]

But eventually once FleetNet is upgraded, all the paramedic services in Ontario will be switching to MPDS.

Source?

 

[VA3ADP]

Source?

Quite a few Peel Paramedics I've talked to

 

[polkaroo]

CTAS levels: https://www.lhsc.on.ca/media/2904/download

A bit more info on the response level:

Communications

www.torontoparamedic.com

EMD's use 33 protocols in MPDS to ask questions relating to the patients' condition...

Based on the information, your emergency will be assigned a priority:

Call Priorities

Echo - The highest priority for patients that have agonal (dying) breathing or who are unconscious and not breathing. Paramedics, police and the fire department are all sent to provide immediate care.

Delta - A high priority where Paramedics usually use their lights and sirens. This is for patients with a potentially life threatening condition or symptoms.

Charlie - Moderate priority. Based on the information provided, the patient MAY have a pre-hospital emergency.

Bravo - A lower priority emergency. Though there may be pain or injury present, the patients' condition is not deemed immediately life threatening.

Alpha - A low priority call. These patients may or may not require ambulance transport to hospital. In some cases with low acuity patients, the EMD will transfer your call to a registered nurse at Telehealth Ontario who can assist you with suitable options that may not include ambulance transport to the emergency department. Examples are: lower abdominal pain, a cut finger, a child with something stuck up their nose, flu symptoms and back pain. A registered nurse can provide a more in depth assessment over the phone and if they believe an ambulance is required, one will be sent. In many cases, callers/patients are directed to a family doctor, clinic or an ER visit within 24 hours.

Courtesy Call - Some patients may not be injured but require help. For example; an individual who has fallen/slipped but can not get up under their own power.

Non-Emergency Transfers - Toronto Paramedic Services does not have a fleet of Paramedics dedicated to transferring patients for appointments. The types of “transfers" that we do accommodate now are unstable patients or those who require immediate transport to another hospital for specialized care.

When the priority has been assigned, your call changes hands to a Dispatcher.

Quadrant Dispatcher

At Toronto CACC, the city is split into 4 quadrants.

• Northwest (District 1)
• Northeast (District 2)
• Southwest (District 3)
• Southeast (District 4)