General Fire/EMS questions

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Pridemark QRV's are not staffed often, especially at night. In Arvada if you hear Sierra 5 or 6, they are a team leader and may likely be in the qrv, but not always. In boulder, Pridemark 20 or 21 are team leaders and may occasionally be in a qrv, but they're likely on an ambulance. There are supervisors and managers though that can jump into a qrv if it is around. There is no set number for the qrv's though.

jfab said:
Are you familiar with Pridemark at all? If so, I believe EMS units are simalar to Pridemarks QRV's(Quick Response Vehicle). They can either provide extra assistance/supplies on scene, or can restock an ambulance at the hospital. North Metro Fire has these as well. I'm sure other departments have them, I'm just familiar with North Metro and Pridemark.

BTW, North Metro's is ID'd on the Radio as EMS 61, and I'm not sure about Pridemarks QRV's.

Hope this helps!
 

Toneslider12

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jfab said:
Are you familiar with Pridemark at all? If so, I believe EMS units are simalar to Pridemarks QRV's(Quick Response Vehicle). They can either provide extra assistance/supplies on scene, or can restock an ambulance at the hospital. North Metro Fire has these as well. I'm sure other departments have them, I'm just familiar with North Metro and Pridemark.

jfab, is EMS 61 staffed full time 24/7 or does an office EMS Coordinator have that designator?

On the south / west side there are only two full time shift EMS Supervisors, EMS 34 in South Metro and SAM 1 in West Metro. Most departments have an "EMS" but they're in the office during business hours and don't respond much. SAM is an acronym from Safety And Medical, so that person actually doubles as a safety officer on fire scenes. Like Jim said, EMS 34 will respond to all the "good" calls, meaning almost every ALS level medical assist and every full response. EMS34 doesn't have enough equipment to restock other rigs, but does carry a full set of ALS gear. The benefit on medical calls is that EMS34 is trained to do RSI and assist with breathing for a patient a little better; some medic units only have one paramedic so EMS can act as a second set of hands in the back too.

I've seen Action Care 301 every once in a while, which appears to be a supervisor but I'm not sure what capabilities and staffing it has.
 

cstockmyer

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Here is a good question. If a department has a fire near a source of water, like a lake or a pond or maybe the high line canal. Do they have the ability to use that water directly? Basically what I am asking is do they carry pumps?
 

FiremanSparky

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Toneslider12 said:
jfab, is EMS 61 staffed full time 24/7 or does an office EMS Coordinator have that designator?

On the south / west side there are only two full time shift EMS Supervisors, EMS 34 in South Metro and SAM 1 in West Metro. Most departments have an "EMS" but they're in the office during business hours and don't respond much. SAM is an acronym from Safety And Medical, so that person actually doubles as a safety officer on fire scenes. Like Jim said, EMS 34 will respond to all the "good" calls, meaning almost every ALS level medical assist and every full response. EMS34 doesn't have enough equipment to restock other rigs, but does carry a full set of ALS gear. The benefit on medical calls is that EMS34 is trained to do RSI and assist with breathing for a patient a little better; some medic units only have one paramedic so EMS can act as a second set of hands in the back too.

I've seen Action Care 301 every once in a while, which appears to be a supervisor but I'm not sure what capabilities and staffing it has.

Hello Toneslider12
Is West Metro using EMS Supervisors as Safety Officers also? I monitor them from time to time, and if I recall correctly, on structure fires and highway auto accidents, among others, Sam-1 is also dispatched.

Thanks,
Frank
 

Toneslider12

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FiremanSparky said:
Hello Toneslider12
Is West Metro using EMS Supervisors as Safety Officers also? I monitor them from time to time, and if I recall correctly, on structure fires and highway auto accidents, among others, Sam-1 is also dispatched.

Thanks,
Frank

Yes, SAM 1 responds as an EMS Supervisor and Safety Officer. South Metro on the other hand has separate units for each function, EMS34 and Training 33 for safety. You'll also hear Parker Safety 75 who only acts as a safety officer.
 

firescannerbob

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cstockmyer said:
Here is a good question. If a department has a fire near a source of water, like a lake or a pond or maybe the high line canal. Do they have the ability to use that water directly? Basically what I am asking is do they carry pumps?
They can pump directly out of a pond, lake or swimming pool. It's called drafting. There are some limitations, mostly concerning how high above the water the pumper is. They also have to use what is called "hard suction" hose. You'll see it on many pumpers. The hose looks like a pipe (instead of being stored flat like regular hose), and is 5" or 6" in diameter.
My department doesn't carry any of that hose, since the entire city has hydrants every 500'. We do have a couple sections of hard suction hose in storage since it's needed for our annual pump certifications. One of the tests in the pump certification is the ability to draft.
 

cstockmyer

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firescannerbob said:
They can pump directly out of a pond, lake or swimming pool. It's called drafting. There are some limitations, mostly concerning how high above the water the pumper is. They also have to use what is called "hard suction" hose. You'll see it on many pumpers. The hose looks like a pipe (instead of being stored flat like regular hose), and is 5" or 6" in diameter.
My department doesn't carry any of that hose, since the entire city has hydrants every 500'. We do have a couple sections of hard suction hose in storage since it's needed for our annual pump certifications. One of the tests in the pump certification is the ability to draft.

Very interesting. Thank you Sir!
 

jfab

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Toneslider12 said:
jfab, is EMS 61 staffed full time 24/7 or does an office EMS Coordinator have that designator?

On the south / west side there are only two full time shift EMS Supervisors, EMS 34 in South Metro and SAM 1 in West Metro. Most departments have an "EMS" but they're in the office during business hours and don't respond much. SAM is an acronym from Safety And Medical, so that person actually doubles as a safety officer on fire scenes. Like Jim said, EMS 34 will respond to all the "good" calls, meaning almost every ALS level medical assist and every full response. EMS34 doesn't have enough equipment to restock other rigs, but does carry a full set of ALS gear. The benefit on medical calls is that EMS34 is trained to do RSI and assist with breathing for a patient a little better; some medic units only have one paramedic so EMS can act as a second set of hands in the back too.

I've seen Action Care 301 every once in a while, which appears to be a supervisor but I'm not sure what capabilities and staffing it has.
I am not sure. It sounds like it maybe set up simalar to SMFR. I will try to find out.
 

FiremanSparky

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jfab said:
When running a party through a Data/Clearance channel, an officer will sometimes ask for a QDA. What is a QDA?? Thanks!

Hello jfab
I do not know if it varies from agency to agency, but from monitoring a certain PD, it sounds like they are checking for previous local contacts, criminal or not, and also to get contact (address, phone #, etc), and possibly personal info. (SSN, tattoo's, gang affiliation, etc.)

Frank
 

firescannerbob

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FiremanSparky said:
Hello jfab
I do not know if it varies from agency to agency, but from monitoring a certain PD, it sounds like they are checking for previous local contacts, criminal or not, and also to get contact (address, phone #, etc), and possibly personal info. (SSN, tattoo's, gang affiliation, etc.)

Frank
Actually, QDA is a query used in the CCIC to use a persons drivers license info to connect him/her with vehicles that they own/have registered.
 

Troop

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jfab said:
When running a party through a Data/Clearance channel, an officer will sometimes ask for a QDA. What is a QDA?? Thanks!

It's also known as a Alpha Check...the readers digest version of it is......if you have a driver's record or have registered a vehicle, you can be found without a date of birth using an alpha check.....comes in handy if you're working on a mystery without any clues
 
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