Fire-trucks cover for ambulance

By EUGENE BINGHAM and JOHN ANDREWS

People dialling 111 and asking for an ambulance could see a fire-engine turn up instead.

Under a national agreement being drawn up by fire and ambulance services, firefighters will be sent to carry out first aid if an ambulance is not immediately available.

Fire-trucks have already begun covering for ambulances in some areas but the new policy, expected to be approved this year, will provide clear rules across the country.

"It's really a reaction to the fact that there are about 450 fire stations against about 140 ambulance stations," said Fire Service chief executive and national commander Mike Hall.

"It's a matter of helping out the ambulance services when there's a gap in their coverage."

The system would cover emergencies where it was a matter of life and death - most often cardiac arrests where the patient was unconscious - as well as situations where ambulance officers needed help, perhaps with lifting a patient.

Many fire-engines carry oxygen and defibrillators to assist heart-attack victims.

But Mr Hall said the Fire Service did not want to be seen as an alternative to ambulances, nor was there any intention to merge the services.

The decision whether to send a fire-engine would be made by ambulance control-room officers after they had assessed how long it would take an ambulance to respond.

Mr Hall said an ambulance would always be sent as well.

But David McCready, an Aucklander who called an ambulance when his mother-in-law had a heart attack last week, was amazed when a fire-engine turned up at his Sandringham gate.

Thinking the wrong service had been sent, he told the firefighters: "I rang for an ambulance."

They told him no ambulance was immediately available and they would tend to his mother-in-law, Pat Brydon, 79.

The fire-engine had oxygen and resuscitation gear. The firefighters took Mrs Brydon's pulse and kept her comfortable until an ambulance arrived several minutes later.

Mr McCready's wife, Wendy, said most people she had told were surprised there was no ambulance available in central Auckland on a Thursday evening.

The fire-engine came from the nearby Balmoral station, while the ambulance had to be sent from the North Shore.

Ian Rae, a St John representative working on the national policy with the Fire Service, said that while there were enough staff to deal with a higher-than-average level of work, situations would inevitably arise where no ambulances were available immediately.

"It's a fact of life that there are more fire stations ... There are certainly situations where we can have all our ambulances committed and have a life-threatening situation."

Mr Rae said the introduction of a national policy would clarify how the arrangements should work.

"Co-response arrangements around the country are working very well but there are inconsistencies such as how they are activated and where responsibilities lie."

On Auckland's North Shore, fire-engines carry defibrillators donated by charities.

North Shore fire chief Denis O'Donoghue said firefighters in the district attended about 15 medical callouts a month with their ambulance colleagues.

Fire Service resources were juggled around so fire emergencies could be covered while an appliance was attending a medical callout.

But Mr O'Donoghue hoped a national policy would sort out issues such as who met costs and provided training.

Professional Firefighters Union president Mike McEnaney said that while some firefighters were reluctant to attend medical emergencies, the union supported the move.

"If you have highly trained people who can administer life-sustaining activities and they are on duty, then they should be used."