‘They always send fire trucks along with ambulances even if there’s no report of fire. Seems like a waste of resources.’
I think the firefighters are there to break down the doors in case entrance to the facility proves difficult. Not sure about that, but it sounds good...
Fire fighters are also trained Paramedics. That’s why they are the first responders.
I have an electrical short somewhere in my van, and this summer accidentally locked my 9 month old son in it, without any windows open, and the A/C off (van locked itself, I swear!)—
Called 911 to ask for help and specifically said, it’s not an emergency, but it is a warm day and we were facing the sun, could someone come help us out?
Seconds later we heard the siren and horn honking of a firetruck and my 8 y/o’s eyes got really big when this giant fire truck drove up, rearing to go—a police car was right behind. I was embarrassed, but they shook off my comments, saying it was better to be safe than sorry, and that the fire dept could get into the van faster than just the police in case it was an emergency situation.
I was very grateful they ‘wasted their resources’ on my son! They had him out of there in less than 5 minutes and they were on their way!
A paramedic friend of mine says that they have extricating equipment on their vehicles and he wonders why firefighters are always called out as well.
I think it has more to do with response time - they can frequently get there more quickly than the ambulance, and with their first aid and CPR training those minutes or seconds can save lives.
usually fire trucks are sent first because they usually have a paramedic crew and there are more firestations than ambulance bases, so help gets there faster