I have worked in a largely urban EMS system for the last eleven years. As with any city, we have some parts that are pretty shady, and on any given shift, I might be asked to respond into them. I do it with my head on a swivel, taking in everything around me. Sometimes we have the police with us, sometimes the fire department shows up, and other times it might just be our ambulance or even just my Expedition. Its part of my job and it’s an assumed risk that comes along with it. Still though, to this day, I don’t wear a bullet proof vest, and I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve truly felt unsafe and in danger on a scene. I take scene safety seriously, and encourage others to do the same.
But what would you do if going into those higher crime areas was something you were asked to do when you weren’t on a call? What if you were asked to drive around those neighborhoods and just keep an eye on things? You would probably say to yourself “Well, then I’d be a police officer.” That might not be true if you work forWashington,DCFire andEMS.
Recently, the Mayor of Washington DC, Vincent Gray put forth a mandate that was backed by his deputy mayor for public safety. Paul Quander who holds that position was quoted as saying “all D.C. government employees have a responsibility to look out for residents.” Well, Mr. Quander, does that mean that you’ll be out on the streets too? I sure hope so, because if you’ve deemed this assignment safe enough for the DCFEMS staff, then it should be a piece of cake for you. You have just as much training in law enforcement as they do. You might even have more.
He followed that up by stating that he doesn’t plan on putting any of DCFEMS’s staff at risk, but with this mandate I would say that he already has. What kind of deturrant is an ambulance or a fire engine anyway? How is that going to prevent crime? What do they expect the staff to do if they see something? Should they call the “shots fired” in and head in the other direction, or get on their PA and loudly declare “Stop! Or I’ll say stop again!”
High crime areas are no where for an ambulance to be patrolling. As a matter of fact, finding “safe havens” for staff in these neighborhoods should be a priority. DCFEMS needs to remember Lesson #1 that we discussed last year when talking about the Jackson,MI incident involving AMR and city councilman Kenneth Stokes: take care of yourself first. Remember those first words you learned in EMT class: “Survey the scene.” What Washington,DC’s government officials are asking their staff to do is to “go out and find a scene.”
I have mixed feelings about unions and their place in pre-hospital care, but for the sake and safety of every single DCFEMS EMT, paramedic, and firefighter, I hope the union fights this one tooth and nail. Its unsafe, and unnecessarily puts people in harm’s way.
Just like with Jackson, all I want to know is where are the police? Is crime such an issue? Lets put an extra car or two on and keep the ambulances and fire trucks where they belong: away from the scene until that scene is safe.
IÂ am an advocate for proactive EMS, but this isn’t the place for it. Mobile posting is part of the job in some places, but mobile patrolling shouldn’t be.
 Read the whole article at EMS1.com.
Well said. It is absolutely ridiculous to think that EMS and Fire can be used as a crime deterrent when we often stage to be cleared into scenes by law enforcement. If we are expected to act as police officers, then give us a gun, a vest and the training to do so. Oh, and pay us accordingly.
I’m gonna take a beating for this, but I’m going to agree with the DC Mayor. Please don’t take my thoughts as angry rebuttle, but as one old crazy guys opinion!
Visibility is a crime deterrent. It has been proven many times that city services from EMS, Fire, Public Works, Utilities, and other official or “quasi official” presence in an area can deter crime. Physical visibility is the reason that police are going back to “black and whites”. It was proven in a couple cities that crime went down in neighborhoods where crusiers were black and whites rther than other color schemes. This goes for EMS and Fire too… we are safer if we are more visible. Being out there on the street gets us seen by the people we serve. Fire stations have always been known as safe havens, but today, we lock the front doors and hide in the back. I remember when we had EMS station in Springfield… back in the good ole days! I remember kids coming by on bikes, checking out the trucks, talking to us and hanging out. I remember a woman coming up from the neighborhood behind, scared and injured from a domestic beating… we did’nt tell her to call the cops and wait… we treated her, put her in the truck, and called the cops on the way to the ER. I’m not advocating the structured agreesive crime patrol for a city ambulance, but visibility and an observant crew can provide a level of security for a community. This takes coordination to be effective, in dispatch centers and communications capabiility (inter-operability). There also needs to be some level of accountability and emergency signaling as well. Where I work when something bad happens I push a button on my Blue Force Tracker in the car… that signals a satelitte that sounds an alarm to a watchroom and brings up my exact GPS mark on a moving map… in a couple minutes a response is put into action. We have similar capbility in radio emergency buttons or even on mobile data terminals… these can be integrated into a system without too much trouble.
The techincal and specific items aside… when did Emergency Service workers stop taking an active role in protectiing their community? Why have we as Americans abandoned the responsibilty to take care of each other. Why do we ask Police Officers to take on the enormous task of enforcing the law only to lambaste them in the media and courts when things go wrong? Police departments cannot be all places at all times and they don’t have to be, what they need is support from the community. If you are mobile posting or returning from a call and see something, call it in. Simple as that. If you drive by a house on fire would you drive by and say “fire departments job, none of my business”… no you call it in.
We ARE in harms way… We go into harms… we thrive in harms way… A city service paramedic is a dangerous job. Things happen, people get hurt. If we keep pretending we can be safe on scene every time, we won’t be able to respond when things go bad. We are creating paramedics who can only function in ideal conditions and that is not reality. If you want a safe and secure environement to work in, then go to nursing school and work in the hospital. In any city in America being on the street is dangerous… be smart, be a good public servant and keep each other and your community safe.
Hi, Chris. I’ve got a couple of thoughts for you..
” when did Emergency Service workers stop taking an active role in protectiing their community? ”
We didnt, but as three distinct branches of the public safety/service spectrum, we protect our communities in our own ways. Through the efforts of Fire Departments and an increased focus on fire prevention, fires are down, nation wide. Programs like the Advanced Practice Paramedics used in places like Fort Worth, TX and Wake County, NC have put paramedics out there serving their community in a proactive way with noted results.
The place for these providers is not on a street corner serving in place of a “black and white” especially in an atmosphere like the one in DC where citizens will freely take shots at police. What are the FD personnel supposed to do when that happens?
“We ARE in harms way…”
Again, you are correct. There are risks that we take every day, but that doesn’t mean we can’t minimize those risks. We strive for that here, and if you ask me, I think pretty successful. Like I said, this area isn’t safe, you know that as well as I do, but in 11 years, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve truly felt unsafe on a scene.
“We are creating paramedics who can only function in ideal conditions and that is not reality”
Here is where knowledge and training comes in, and maybe that is what we need industry wide. We really don’t teach street smarts and safety enough, and maybe we need to focus on that more. I’ll agree with you here, my friend.
“Fire stations have always been known as safe havens, but today, we lock the front doors and hide in the back.”
Finally, this one I will agree with as well. Gone are the days of lawn chairs on the aprons. There is no more “Chair Club for Men” that used to take up space out in the open, and maybe THIS needs to be the role that fire and EMS needs to take. Educate the public that these are safe places that you can go if you need help.
I just can’t see how putting fire trucks or ambulances on street corners is going to have much benefit in prevention. More cops is the answer.
I have to jump into this, mostly on the side of Chris B. I have a lot of mixed feelings about the idea of posting fire and ems on every street corner in “bad” neighborhoods, I do feel it is our responsiblity to support our individual communities in any way we can.
Although I have to say after having 3 former co-workers go to work in DC and hearing their stories fo public safety in the city, I question the motivation of anything coming out of the DC goverment. Mayor Barry ring a bell?
I came from a system where all the medics had the PD and FD channels in our portables and out truck radios. We toured the city most days and not just the good neighborhoods.
PD loved having another set of “eyes and ears” on the streets and the regular interaction of the EMS and PD both in person and on the radio built a strong bond between the angencies. One of our medics even got to take part in making MA case law when he reported a man with a gun who drove by a scene.
We took the time to stop, talk to and patronize local vendors throughout the city. Being visable in the community and to its members does provide them with a strong sense of safety and security.
Even now my lecture to new empolyees at the hospital contains the wisdom that the safety and security of the hospital campus is everyone’s responsiblity. I f you see something out of the norm, report it.
Can I swear our community involvement worked wonders? No. But in 20 years we lost only a flashlight and a map book while on calls and no major equipment was stolen. Well there was those two lightbars. We were shot at twice, caught in the x fire, with no injuries. In general I think our visiblity allowed us to serve all neighborhoods without major issues and allowed us to serve the community fuller.
Chris says it best when he writes: ” If you are mobile posting or returning from a call and see something, call it in. Simple as that.”