Posted on http://www.wtnh.com
Milford, Conn. (WTNH) – From a mass casualty event to a routine call for chest pain, paramedics are walking into unpredictable and, sometimes, dangerous situations. Milford Fire and Police armed themselves with the best weapon for those situations: preparedness.
“We don’t want to have tunnel vision. We want to focus on the patient. We want to look at everything that’s going around and this could be applied to going into a school; this can be applied to going into someone’s home; this could be applied to going into the mall,” said Captain Christopher Zak of the Milford Fire Department.
And, Milford Police and Fire applied tactical EMS techniques to a series of practical exercises. The goal: increase their ability to care for injured officers during a tactical operation and better-prepare them for situations like a recent call in Hamden.
On Friday, when firefighters and paramedics responded to a call, they were greeted by their would-be patient with a loaded gun pointed at them. Or, the power plant explosion in Middletown two weeks ago, killing six; wounding almost two dozen others.
“Now-a-days it’s a more violent world so it’s going to be nightly EMS calls where the crews are in danger or the fire department comes up against something violent,” said Tactical Paramedic Ian McDevitt.
McDevitt knows this all to well; he’s served in Iraq and Afghanistan and implemented the techniques on the battlefield.
Traditional EMS training teaches the ABC’s: Airway, breathing and circulation. But, in this special Tactical EMS Training, they focus on the two B’s: Breathing and bleeding.
“When to worry about security and when to worry about patient care and being able to prioritize that is huge,” said EMS Captain Daniel Wassmer of the Milford Fire Department.
It’s a narrow focus with safer outcomes.
