The Division’s focus is to:

	Educate, certify and recertify to State Bureau of EMS requirements all our Firefighters as EMTs or Paramedics.
	To keep them supplied and equipped with the best tools and products to properly respond to any medical emergency.
	To provide training and equipment to keep our firefighters safe as they respond to fire and medical emergencies.
	To assure compliance with all OSHA and Utah Department of Health regulations governing safety in emergency response.

EMTs and Paramedics

EMTs are trained and certified to State Standards to provide Basic Life Support to the Citizens of Utah.

	Basic Life Support training prepares EMTs to respond to medical emergencies, traffic accidents, and industrial accidents; in short any time anyone needs emergency medical help. They are trained to perform CPR, control bleeding, splint fractures, bandage wounds and get these patients to a hospital for definitive care.
	Salt Lake City Fire Department provides this service to City residents through 10, Basic Life Support (BLS) Apparatus, staffed with 4 EMTs. These apparatus are spaced strategically throughout the City.
	Our Division provides all the training and testing to keep these EMTs certified and qualified to provide this service.

Paramedics are trained and certified to State Standards to provide Advanced Life Support to the Citizens of Utah. Advanced Life Support training adds the following to the EMT training:

	Advanced Cardiac (heart) care including the ability to administer certain life saving drugs.
	Advanced airway techniques.
	The knowledge and ability to recognize many other life threatening medical emergencies and treat them immediately in the field.

 

 

 

Salt Lake City Fire Department’s Response to Medical Emergencies

Every call to 911 is assigned a priority that requires an EMT or Paramedic response.

	An EMT response gets the nearest EMT apparatus and an Ambulance from our partners, Southwest Ambulance.
	A Paramedic response gets the nearest Paramedic engine and a Southwest ambulance.
	If there is a Paramedic call where an EMT apparatus is closer than the Paramedic engine they are also dispatched resulting in 3 vehicles and three crews responding to one medical.

Therefore when you call 911 for a medical emergency you may get an EMT apparatus and crew arriving first and starting the procedure needed to remediate the problem. The Paramedic engine will arrive soon after to add their expertise.

Then you will see a Southwest Ambulance arrive to assist in transporting the patient to the hospital. This three tiered approach provides the fastest and most appropriate response to the needs of the citizens of Salt Lake City.

 

 

Safety

In order to provide the best services to the citizens of Salt Lake City we must have all our people available and able to respond the your emergency call.

The Department of EMS/Safety and Wellness is given the task of overseeing the safety of all our firefighters.

	We provide each member with all the personal safety gear they need to operate in any emergency situation.
	We also provide maintenance and replacement to assure that all safety equipment is in good working order.
	We enforce the safety guidelines of OSHA and NFPA to ensure our people are operating in a safe manner.

 

 

Wellness

A fit and healthy firefighter can better provide for the needs of the citizens of Salt Lake City.

The Department of EMS/Safety and Wellness is given the task of overseeing the “Wellness” of all our firefighters, their fitness and health is part of our duties.

	We provide each station with exercise equipment and time during each 24 hr work day to use that equipment to maintain and improve the physical fitness of each firefighter.
	We also provide training and personal assistance to help each firefighter meet and/or exceed the minimum standards of physical ability set by the Fire Department.