EMS Garage

Let me say first off that I do agree that FF first response is over used and needs to be curtailed, not only for economic reasons, but also for overall safety reasons. However, from personal experience, the priority dispatch systems are flawed due to the simple fact that they rely on caller information. When my area’s EMS system instituted prioritized dispatch many moons ago, we all thought we would see big changes. We didn’t. The questions are extremely leading and very unclear/subjective to the average bystander. Also, it didn’t take the general public too long to figure out all they had to do was answer the magic question, “Are you, or the patient, having any difficulty breathing?”, and lo and behold, trucks, cars, and ambulances were arriving at their doorstep in 3 to 5 minutes. If we really want to reduce our light and siren responses, then we first have to find a better method of screening calls.