19-PRESENTATION ON FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSESMemo�andu�z
TO: City Council
John Godwin, City Manager
FROM: Larry Wright, Fire Chief
SUBJECT: Fire Department Responses
DATE: June 10, 2013
BACKGROUND: The Fire Department was requested to present to the City Council response to
incidents in the City of Paris and Lamar County. The response criteria for each response and
what apparatus responds depend on the type of incident. Questions have been brought up in the
past as to why certain apparatus respond and if there is a more economical way to handle
responses especially medical responses.
STATUS OF ISSUE: Currently the Fire Department is an "all hazard" response team. Along
with fire related calls, the Fire Department responds on certain medical calls to augment the
EMS crew with manpower. In some circumstances in an EMS overload, the fire crews would
arrive first and render care until such time as EMS can arrive. The Fire Department is considered
by Texas Department of Health and Human Services as a"first responder" organization and we
are licensed that way. With regard to response, the Fire Department has to be an integral team.
Where one goes, the whole crew must go. It is not unlikely that a crew will go from a call on one
side of town to another call on the other side of town back to back. That it is why it is important
that the whole crew keep its integrity at all times. When responding to medical calls, even though
it may require only two people of that crew to assist, the potential to respond to a fire call from
that medical call is always there, thus breaking a crew up is potentially dangerous. The response
used by Paris Fire Department is the norm for all Fire Departments.
BUDGET: N/A
RECOMMENDATION: N/A
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