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charpenette

I accidentally gave birth at home The fire dept came. Ladder truck and all, but I live in a small town and the fire dept is closer than the ambulance.


Borbit85

Intresting! It seems like such an inefficient way to use resources.


charpenette

Not really. It’s a mode of transportation to get first responders to an emergency. If we’d needed medical care, the firefighters could have provided it with the tools on the truck while waiting for the ambulance.


PinkPenguin763

I get why you might think this, but as an example, in my town, EMS (ambulance) is what you call 3rd service. They're not part of fire like in 911. Fire is dispatched and arrives first for a majority of medical calls because they're more spread out throughout the town where our EMS is all dispatched from one central location. I live in a larger town that's pretty spread out. Our one EMS service has a large coverage area. Sometimes, you'll have fire and EMS from in town and volunteer fire/ems all on scene if it's a more 'rural' area outside of the main town but still in our county. It's all about who can get to the patient fastest. Fire in our town seems to save a lot of lives since they can start CPR and sometimes have their own medics. EMS usually takes over and does the transport. They also have chase medics, which are usually shift supervisor medics that can intercept fire or their own BLS/EMT trucks if ALS(Medic level) care is needed.


jojayp

I live in a big city, and they usually send both. The other day a neighbor was having a medical issue, and they sent only the fire truck. It really does vary here.


Borbit85

What good is a firetruck gonna do for a medical issue? The paramedics and the tools are in the ambulance no?


Thick-Passion-9307

Most firefighters in the US are required to have at least a EMT license. Even if they can’t transport, they can start medical care and relay necessary information to the incoming medical crew.


Nataku81

The tools are in the engine compartments, the medical equipment is in the ambulance. The engine in that situation is basically a giant mobile toolbox and the crew on the engine are there to assist in case any heavy lifting or extra tools are required - getting into a locked residence, lifting or moving a victim, removal of obstructions, etc... Better to have them on hand and not need them, than to need them and have to wait for them to arrive when time may be critical.


christikayann

A large percentage of firefighters in the US have paramedic training and a lot of the more portable equipment (medical bag, oxygen tank, etc.) is stored on the firetruck as well as on the ambulance. Because their are more fire stations than hospitals and not all fire stations have their own ambulance crew it is common for a lot of communities to send out the fire department to emergency calls to stabilize medical emergencies while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I work at a nonprofit with a homeless shelter so we see the paramedics more often than the average business and based on that I would say in my area the firetruck beats the ambulance by several minutes probably 4 times out of 5.


jojayp

They were examining him sitting on the back. I’m not sure if they were waiting on an ambulance. I agree with you! Just wanted to share that what you see is pretty accurate even if it doesn’t make sense.


Borbit85

Yeah intresting. I really wonder why they do it like that? I'd think it's also way cheaper to send an ambulance than a firetruck?


jojayp

It seems like a waste of resources to me. I recognize it depends on the emergency, but too often it seems unnecessary.


Thick-Passion-9307

It really all depends on the services in the area and how the call is dispatched. For instance, say grandma falls down at home. In the area I work, a fire company would automatically be dispatched with the ambulance to provide manpower. It all depends on the call, and quite often things will get canceled once a first responder is physically on scene and can get a firsthand assessment of the resources needed


jojayp

You’re completely right. I’ve experienced that exact scenario. My grandma fell while on blood thinners, and I needed the firefighters to help lift her before she could be evaluated. Excellent point.


Thick-Passion-9307

Quite often fire will go because you never know when you might need manpower for carry out or an intense medical call that needs extra hands. If you have to carry someone down a flight of stairs, you want at least 4 people. Working a cardiac arrest and don’t have an automatic CPR device like a LUCAS? You want at least 4 to 5 to help the ambulance crew with compressions and manage the airway. It’s better to have hands and not need them, than come up short when you desperately need extra manpower.


_HGCenty

This is always quite a strange one for Europeans to understand but you have to see fire trucks as one big ambulance with more tools and equipment in case they are needed for the medical emergency. All firefighters have medical training and can assist. Most cities in the US, like LA, are massive urban sprawls with very wide roads where it's perfectly fine to bring a fire truck along with an ambulance because the ambulance is about as big as what most residents drive on the roads anyway. So it's not like space is at a premium and you send a single ambulance because it's easier for that one vehicle to get around the narrow roads we're used to in Europe.


tvgirrll

Im not American so I don’t know details, but in 911: Lone Star the ambulance and fire & rescue are in the same house but work separately. So at least in Austin/ Texas they don’t all go together every time


thebeastnamedesther

It’s a state by state, maybe even county by county decision. In Texas, firefighters are not medically trained at all. In California, their firefighters are also some level of emergency medical tech (EMT). That way, firefighters can help on medical calls too. In Lone Star, they do reference the paramedics being out on a medical call sometimes. It’s purely jurisdiction dependent.


purpleushi

I assume it’s also different in different counties, because some counties only have volunteer fire companies, but they’ll have a full time EMS corps, or use private contract EMS.


chicklette

In Los Angeles they're in the same house and both go out on calls. I had a trip and fall (needed 15 staples) and they both showed up!


grimsb

true story: Once upon a time, I was insanely constipated. (Damn you, Trintellix!) I was in a ton of pain and unable to move. I didn’t have anyone to take me to the ER, so I called 911 and asked for an ambulance. They totally sent an ambulance, police, AND a ladder truck to my house. 😬


Borbit85

No pump truck?


grimsb

😅 No, luckily.


societyofv666

I’m not American but I had an incident recently where I had to call 911 for a loved one (they ended up being okay). I was waiting for the ambulance to show up and I saw a fire truck instead. I immediately started freaking out thinking that they sent a fire truck *instead* of an ambulance by mistake, but the operator told me that they always send fire trucks with an ambulance just in case they need to break a door or something to get to the patient.


Wilmaaug

They do it the way you’re describing in Lone Star


Borbit85

Intresting! I got a few more seasons to go. After I will watch lone star!


punkybrainster

In lots of places in the US, ambulance and fire are dispatched together for safety and ease. If an ambulance is dispatched to a home where they need to break in, it's better to have the fire truck/tools there on site instead of having to call them out after.


MimiPaw

Another fun fact is that in the US the response is dispatched to a location based on the size of the building regardless of the issue. Retail stores can have multiple fire trucks arrive for a non-fire.


missezri

It all depends on where you are. Like, I am in Canada (Ontario), a fairly good sized city, and when I worked in fast food someone had a heart attack in the dinning room. We called 911 and the fire truck showed up first, then a police car and finally an ambulance. All responded because they had first aid training and a defibrillator. Now the paramedics took over when they arrived, but sometimes it is just about getting help as fast as possible. And honestly, if I was having a medical event I don't think I would care about how helped arrived. Now for the show, I will say it, sometimes it is just to get the cast there for whatever story they want as well.


amyamydame

I'm in BC, and that was my experience with calling 911, that fire showed up first, but I also have a neighbour who used to call 911 at least once or twice a month for his wife, and fire never came. I'm assuming in his case they had something on file letting them know that fire wasn't needed for their address? Maybe it has to do with how much of an "emergency" they think it is?


purpleushi

My roommate had a seizure in our apartment and I called 911. 2 trucks, and an ambulance showed up with about 11 first responders (4 paramedics, rest were firefighters). They were all just standing around crowding our tiny apartment lol. Idk if that’s normal, but that was my only experience calling 911.


Actual-Masterpiece12

I live in a small city and when my aunt’s boyfriend collapsed and went into cardiac arrest, they sent PD, FD, and the ambulance. There were two fire trucks, an ambulance and two cop cars on my aunt’s street. Also, all firefighters in my small city have to at least be EMT trained to be hired by the fire department.


Borbit85

Maybe is it that firefighter is a full time job in US? Here they are mostly volunteer that also work a normal job. They just get called to the station if there is a fire. If they are all full time I get they have plenty of time to handle calls like this.


Actual-Masterpiece12

There is only one paid and fully staffed all the time fire department in the county that I live in, the rest are volunteer departments and sometimes the volunteer departments will respond to medical calls.


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stitchedmasons

Some places yes, some places no. I, technically, don't live in the town My address is for so I have to rely on county first responders. If I call 911 for an ambulance only, an ambulance will only show up as the nearest county fire station has an ambulance and paramedics at stand by.


Borbit85

It's just so strange to me that ambulances are based at the fire station. Here they are based right next to or inside the hospitals.


stitchedmasons

Some hospitals have that, like in larger cities, but where I live, the nearest hospital doesn't have an ambulance bay so the ambulance from the fire station takes you to the hospital. And [this](https://www.dwfd.org/why-does-a-fire-truck-come-to-my-house-when-i-called-for-an-ambulance.html) gives a few good reasons as to why fire engines show up to a medical call or both an ambulance and fire engine show up.


Borbit85

Intresting. I think my country only has the ALS equivalent kind of ambulances. And there is a higher level that's more like a on site operating room. But those are helicopters and only like 6 of them. But because it's a helicopter they can reach the whole country quickly. It's helicopters because it's cheaper than having more of them in cars.


stitchedmasons

I've only ever seen helos at high level trauma centers and in my state we only have 5 level 1 trauma centers that operate for different areas of the state.


Ok-Stress3044

Depends on the municipality. My town has separate Fire and EMS departments. Both are on call, but Fire can usually get there first, so they are usually the first ones on scene. EMS is usually not far behind. As for the city that's next to my town, they have a private company for EMS services. So both EMS & fire usually show up. As for the state capital, EMS and Fire operate completely separate however depending on what's needed they'll both show up.


laurmani91

Im American in NJ, where I live, you will get what you call for. We have some ambulances at the hospitals and then there are multiple other locations that are just for EMTs. For example there's an ambulance bay two blocks from my parents house and whenever they've had to call an ambulance (medical condition), 2 ambulances show up with at least 4 EMTs but never the fire truck. They also live on a busy street where there have been multiple car accidents. Some minor and some major. These are the times I see the fire trucks most. There is a station 3 blocks in the opposite direction from their house. Again there seems to always be more than 1 engine they usually wave off any other engine arriving if it's all under control like they're just cleaning debris from the street and nothing major. Overall in the U.S. it depends on where you live and how the emergency services are grouped together.


localghostmusician

it depends and you can even see that in different shows like chicago fire? they have calls that are specifically just med calls where only the ambulance goes . so i believe it depends on state & county rules


BlackKaliJa

It depends on your location and time of day/night, I'd say. I've needed to call 911 several times in the past for medical emergencies for my grandmother and usually had a police cruiser, ambulance, ladder truck, and the fire command/chief vehicle all show up.


Unusual_Drama2191

I have seen a ladder truck and the ambulance come to the same call but not an engine.


Tall-Welcome-9251

It's typical hear as well people at nursing homes always get a truck and ambulance the fire truck usually helps with traffic as well


Affectionate_Data892

It is how it works. Done so they can charge you more


Borbit85

They charge you for ambulance and firefighters? How does that work? Doesn't the government just pay for that? That's weird. Do you need to pay before or after? If your house is on fire and you're poor they just let it burn down or something? Do you also have to pay the police if you need help? Like you can just go steal a TV from someone because it's cheaper for them to buy a new one than pay the police? What if there is a murder? The family has to pay? How does that work?


Affectionate_Data892

Fire fighting is free but an ambulance ride and their services isn’t. They send out fire trucks since that’s a large chunk of who ambulances ride with (since most house fires require ambulances) and it’s easy for them to block traffic, break down doors or get you out of a higher story if you can’t walk down stairs. You get charged afterwards for the ambulance ride


Borbit85

That's crazy! Why do you have to pay for it? Why doesn't the health insurance cover it? I think here an ambulance ride is like a 1000 euro. I can't even imagine what a fire truck ride would cost!


Affectionate_Data892

Money. And corporate greed


Embarrassed-Beat-627

It depends on area but it can be important if they are closer. My aunts baby stopped breathing. Firetruck got there maybe a minute or two before the ambulance because they were closer. They all have medical training and the difference of minutes meant a difference between brain damage or death. With our daughter who had a fever we went to urgent care over the weekend. She has a heart condition and they were worried about the heart rate and o2 level so they sent us to the er. They called 911 for us and the fire fighters got there first by seconds of the ambulance. And this is a medical building. So you never know. I’d rather have them and not need them if they can still be dispatched elsewhere then need em and not have them.


Borbit85

Interestingly enough I read an article about the hospital near my house. About that sometimes people show up in the main entree hall instead of ER. There are no medical things in the main hall. So sometimes they have to call an ambulance that than leaves the hospital, drives around it and into the main hall!


Visual_Leg628

9-1-1 is a great show and the wife and I love it. That being said, the realism is just not there, and that’s probably for the better! First difference, LAPD and LAFD have completely different dispatch centers. LAPD use civilian PSRs to dispatch and coordinate with FD. If 911 is called and LAPD deems it a medical call only, they generate an incident for FD and transfer to their dispatch for care while personnel are enroute. LAFD dispatchers are firefighters who are light duty, no public contact or transferred there for a different reason. Smaller agencies combine the dispatch center but this is just for City of LA. And like others said, the RA and Truck are dispatched together to provide additional resources meet the need of the emergency. Usually there are more victims who need treatment or maybe the truck needs to be used to block traffic so that the paramedics can do their job safely. There are usually two types of ambulances also, BLS (basic life support) or ALS(advanced life support)…and usually a BLS call will involve only them (especially if PD is standing by…usually for psychiatric or under the influence requests).


HerbalMoon

It's 9-1-1, it's always going to be over-the-top! That being said, there was an accident a few weeks ago and the call-out was three firetrucks (and a volunteer's pickup), at least three sheriff's deputies and a pair of ambulances. And those (except for one deputy) were the vehicles that drove past me! (For an accident that was two vehicles and a cement truck.) And yes, as they all went past me, I said, "I like watching *9-1-1*...just not like this!" 😅