NCC Paramedic Numbers

[aslc]

Aside from the NCC paramedic units 1 thru 9 sometimes dispatches will instead announce "paramedic" followed by a 4 digit number. Does anyone know what those 4 digit units are?

 

[KC2KQH]

Those 4 (and sometimes 3) digit paramedic numbers are the individual person's ID. Depending on the conditions of an individual incident, 1 paramedic will ride with the patient in the ambulance and the other half of the medic unit becomes available as a single provider. That's why from time to time you'll hear a unit advising fireboard that a vehicle may be locked on scene or is being handled by the fire department (this means either all of the individuals from that medic unit are treating or they were a single provider who is now treating). The numbers are 3 or 4 digits simply depending on how long an individual has been with the county. These numbers are assigned to paramedics, county police, and those who work in the 911 center.

 

[aslc]

Those 4 (and sometimes 3) digit paramedic numbers are the individual person's ID. Depending on the conditions of an individual incident, 1 paramedic will ride with the patient in the ambulance and the other half of the medic unit becomes available as a single provider. That's why from time to time you'll hear a unit advising fireboard that a vehicle may be locked on scene or is being handled by the fire department (this means either all of the individuals from that medic unit are treating or they were a single provider who is now treating). The numbers are 3 or 4 digits simply depending on how long an individual has been with the county. These numbers are assigned to paramedics, county police, and those who work in the 911 center.

Thank you for the info. Interesting.... so if one paramedic is treating on a BLS unit enroute to hospital and the 2nd paramedic is following in the medic vehicle that 2nd paramedic can be dispatched to a different call on their own? Makes good sense since their aren't many medic units. Since there's no Broadcastify feed that carries NCC EMS Ops I don't get to hear that whole side of things. Thanks again.

 

[KC2KQH]

You are correct in your understanding of how they operate. Should the available half of a unit get dispatched as a single provider, fireboard will back them up with the next nearest full unit if one is available. There are also cases where two single medics will be dispatched or where a single medic and one of the supervisors (ALS ##) will be paired up to ensure two medics are on the run. The single responder will recall the backup if/when they determine it isn't needed.

You may also notice that when only a single medic is required for transport to Christiana Hospital from the southern end of the county (usually Medic 5 out of Middletown) the other half doesn't always follow the BLS all the way up to Christiana. They move up and stage at fire station 4 (Odessa) to keep an ALS provider available in that part of the county. When they do this the BLS usually gives the half that treated a ride back to station 4. ALS coverage is pretty light down there. Medic 5 is out of Middletown, and when they're tied up the next nearest unit is Medic 6 out of EMS station 6 in Glasgow from the 40/896 area.

I'm not sure where you are located, but if you're anywhere near the area you could grab one of the analog UHF patches. 453.900 is usually a good one, I've carried that through Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties in NJ and down into MD.

 

[aslc]

Thanks. I live up by Phila now and the UHF simulcast is very weak and spotty.