The emergency of non-emergency care – Michael Morse

by Michael Morse, contributing writer – commentary

When I hear somebody telling anybody who will listen that firefighters are obsolete because of new construction and “sprinklers,” and that EMS is where we need to put our resources, I have to call 911 because I think my brain might explode.

Then I wait for the firefighters to arrive.

Some 80% of a fire department’s responses are for EMS calls. People have been trained to rely on the services government provides, and will use 911 for problems that with a little thought and some common sense could be handled by themselves.

But why would they? Nobody ever says “no”.

Approximately 10% of the medical calls that firefighters respond to actually require emergency medical intervention. And 10% of that 10% are serious emergencies. Firefighters are trained in emergency medicine. They are strategically located, and ready to respond. They are not tied up at the emergency room after transporting people there, and waiting for exceedingly long periods to transfer their patient, cleaning and resupplying  their truck, doing the paperwork that ensures proper billing then driving back to their district.

Firefighters are quick to respond, good at their job, and go back in service, ready for the next emergency. They never know when a true emergency will happen, or where. 

Rather than focusing on replacing firefighters with EMT’s, we need to be focusing on replacing sedentary, obese people taking dozens of pills, to people maintaining proper diet, staying off prescription medications, well being, and exercise. An estimated 80% of cardiovascular disease, alone, is preventable if only we adopted what we already know about maintaining healthy lifestyle choices.

We the People are not as sick and needy as we have been led to believe. We are capable of far more self reliance than we have grown accustomed to. Government’s quest for cradle to grave availability is slowly creating a populace that needs to be protected, nurtured and controlled.

When government services are needed, such as a well trained, experienced and properly equipped firefighting force when things like fires, floods, missing people to be found, kids falling through ice, horses stuck in mud, snakes wrapped around arms, gas leaks, chemical explosions, mass casualties and the million other unexpected and deadly things happen we need those firefighters in place and in service. 

Driving people to the emergency room for routine medical care is not the mission statement of any respectable fire department.

___

Michael Morse, [email protected], a monthly contributor is a retired Captain with the Providence Fire Department

Michael Morse spent 23 years as a firefighter/EMT with the Providence Fire Department before retiring in 2013 as Captain, Rescue Co. 5. He is an author of several books, most offering fellow firefighter/EMTs and the general population alike a poignant glimpse into one person’s journey through life, work and hope for the future. He is a Warwick resident.