The majority of our responses are for medical emergencies, and every BCCRS member is certified as at least an emergency medical technician (EMT), capable of providing basic life support (BLS) care. Many members go on to receive additional medical education and become licensed paramedics able to deliver advanced life support (ALS) services. Some also go through a rigorous and intense training process to become certified firefighters qualified to ride our heavy rescue squad.
Emergency Medical Services
EMTs are capable of providing life-saving interventions such as defibrillation, administration of epinephrine and naloxone, and transporting patients to the appropriate hospital, including specialty trauma centers in the case of serious injuries. Paramedics receive hundreds of hours of additional education allowing them to perform more advanced clinical assessments and deliver a wider range of medical therapies.
All BCCRS units are staffed with trained EMS professionals. Based on the nature of the medical emergency, the response might be a single ambulance staffed with either EMTs or paramedics, or it could be several units, including our heavy rescue squad truck, which carries basic medical equipment.
As the name of the organization suggests, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad provides a wide range of rescue services in addition to medical care. Our firefighters who staff the heavy rescue squad go through an extensive training process in order to become experts in operations ranging from extricating victims from vehicles to complex tasks such as freeing entrapped patients from machinery aiding trapped workers stranded on tall structures. Because our firefighters are also all trained as EMTs or paramedics, they can help manage a victim’s medical problems during and after the rescue operation.
When a fire occurs, our units respond to provide firefighting, rescue and medical services. The firefighters on our heavy rescue squad are equipped with structural firefighting gear, including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). While they receive the same training as firefighters on the county’s fire engines and ladder trucks, the team on the rescue squad specializes in performing search and rescue to locate and remove anyone trapped in the fire. The BCCRS chief officers also are qualified to take command roles on the scene of a fire or any incident and help direct the operations of personnel from our department and our partners in the region. Our ambulances also respond to fire scenes in order to provide medical care both to firefighters and to any victims rescued from the fire.
The Units Responding to These Types of Calls
Original department source
