New response system saves GVFD $1,000

Derek Kilbourn

Sounder News

The Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department has saved $1,000 on call-out costs since starting a trial limiting how many members are initially sent to medical calls on Gabriola Island.

The trial started in October, with Gabriola Fire sending only the Duty Officer to non-critical medical calls.

Under the new model, the Duty Officer assesses if more members are needed after arriving on scene,.

For critical calls such as cardiac arrest or major trauma, the department still sends available First Responders and Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs).

The decision on whether to send just the Duty Officer is made considering the location and severity of the call, as well as if the BC Ambulance Service is expected to be delayed, Sprogis said.

Ambulance delays happen when the ambulances stationed to the island are already on a call and multiple calls occur.

In those cases, more fire department members would be sent.

“We’re trying to measure: are we creating burnout for our membership by sending them on every call, especially if they’re going to be on scene for two or three minutes while ambulance then takes over that call?”  Sprogis said.

In the trial’s first 50 days, there were 37 medical calls; 10 required more members.

“So we’ve diverted 63 per cent of the calls….we’ve protected the sleep of firefighters for about 15 hours,” Sprogis said.

The change also tracked a potential 63 hours of lost wages where members would have been pulled away from their regular jobs.

The model is also saving the Improvement District $1,000 in wages that would have been paid to attending firefighters.

This trial and new way of dispatching members “does not take away from the EMR program,” he said.

He said those EMR positions are “extremely important in keeping the community safe when the full-time ambulance is on another call.”

The EMRs can also perform rehabilitation and keep firefighters safe when they are on an emergency scene.