On call to save lives

Fire crews in Southwell will soon be able to respond to life-threatening medical emergencies.

Retained crews at Southwell Fire Station will answer medical calls as part of a co-responder scheme.

The firefighters, who are working closely with East Midlands Ambulance Service, will also work in partnership with Southwell Defibrillator Group.

The volunteer group is available from 8am-10pm every day, to provide life-saving treatment until an ambulance arrives.

The firefighters will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the area they usually cover in Southwell and surrounding villages.

The crews have been trained to use automatic defibrillators to shock the heart with an electric current, and a pulse oximeter that measures heart rate and oxygen saturation levels.

They will continue to carry a range of first aid equipment.

They will wear overalls instead of firefighter uniform when dealing with medical incidents but will continue to travel in a fire engine.

When a 999 call is made to the ambulance service it goes through to the control room and is prioritised.

If it is life-threatening or serious it is classed as a category A or B call and an ambulance crew is immediately dispatched, and at the same time a pager message is sent to the firefighters.

They could be called to people who have chest pains, breathing problems and cardiac arrests, as well as to people who have fallen or have penetrating injuries.

Firefighters are already trained to provide first aid including administering oxygen, using neck collars and fitting artificial airways to victims of fires and road accidents.

Ambulances from Newark or Carlton would normally respond to incidents in the Southwell area.

A firefighter, Mr Tim Spriddell, the station’s medical officer, said Southwell was in an ambulance blackspot and fire crews could cut ten minutes off response times.

He said: “There will be times when the ambulance beats us to it, but there will be other times when we will be holding the fort for several minutes.”

Mr Spriddell (43) of Kirklington, is a commercial photographer and also works in the building trade.

He said: “I joined the service to do everything I can to keep people safe and save lives and this is an extension to the first aid training we already have.”

A firefighter, Mr John Clark (41) of Southwell, said: “Everybody here believes if they can do something to benefit the community they will do it.”

Mr Clark, a crime scene investigator, is the treasurer of the defibrillator group.

He said the group fully supported the move and had visited the station to meet the firefighters.

Mr Sean Keown, a community defibrillator officer for East Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “It is not about response times. It is about patient care and getting a defibrillator to the patient as quickly as possible.

“It really does make a difference. The quicker they are there the better.”

He said there would be times that the volunteers would be called out but the fire crews would not and the volunteers could request assistance from fire crews if required.

Mr Keown said fire crews and the volunteers may both be called out during busy times.