Owensboro Fire Department earned its Non-Transport Advanced Life Support First Response Agency license recently, meaning OFD will be able to provide ALS upon arriving at a scene.
The department has been performing basic life support services since 2006 and has trained staff to provide those services. Now the department is slowly training more staff on advanced level support to provide in appropriate situations.
OFD will be able to respond to medical emergencies and administer treatments such as advanced airway techniques, electrocardiograms and intravenous medicine. The ALS equipment allows the department to perform paramedic-level treatments in situations.
There is one engine at Fire Station #1 currently stocked with ALS equipment and one vehicle that will be used for extra hands should there be a simultaneous need for them.
Battalion Chief Colter Tate said that they plan to expand the program across town, but it will be reliant upon the amount of staff they have trained to properly use ALS equipment.
“That program’s expansion is based on personnel, especially paramedics, being able to either train more of our personnel currently — we have two of our personnel in the joint paramedic program with Daviess County Fire Department, AMR and us right now,” Tate said.
They currently have six paramedics and six advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMT) on staff. This addition also allows the department to hire more paramedics on staff.
Tate said this program could also open the door for the city department to aid the county if the response time could be faster than AMR is expected to arrive.
