Response interval comparison between urban fire departments and ambulance services

Abstract

Objective. To measure the response intervals of fire departments compared with ambulance services in three urban centers to determine whether defibrillators should be added to fire vehicles. Methods. A prospective sample of 1,882 code 4 (life-threatening) tiered calls were collected over a six-month period from March 1, 1994, to August 31, 1994. A matched pairs experimental design compared the response interval of the fire department with that of the ambulance service for each call. This emergency medical services (EMS) system encompasses three urban centers with populations of 80,000, 95,000, and 170,000. Results. In two of three of the urban centers, the fire department arrived on scene more than a minute sooner than the ambulance service: Cambridge (n = 571, mean = 2.22 min, p < 0.0001); Kitchener (n = 1,011, mean = 1.24 min, p < 0.003); and Waterloo (n = 300, mean = 0.69 min, p < 0.98). Conclusions. The shorter response interval of fire departments suggests placing defibrillators on fire response vehicles in an effort to decrease the time to defibrillation for cardiac arrest victims in this EMS system.

Key Words:

• prehospital
• emergency medical services
• paramedic
• ambulance
• defibrillation
• response time
• fire departments
• urban.