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Letters to the Editor

Manatee should utilize fire district EMTs

Bradenton fire, West Manatee fire, EMS and Bradenton police were called to a scene of a structure fire at 3010 Manatee Ave West Thursday. According to a Bradenton police officer at the scene, the occupants of the office building turned on the heat and smelled smoke. When the odor did not resolve an employee opened the air-conditioning unit in the attic and saw flames. Bradenton firefighters extinguished the fire before it could spread. Salvatore Magro/Special to the Herald
Bradenton fire, West Manatee fire, EMS and Bradenton police were called to a scene of a structure fire at 3010 Manatee Ave West Thursday. According to a Bradenton police officer at the scene, the occupants of the office building turned on the heat and smelled smoke. When the odor did not resolve an employee opened the air-conditioning unit in the attic and saw flames. Bradenton firefighters extinguished the fire before it could spread. Salvatore Magro/Special to the Herald

I would like to commend the Manatee County Board of Commissioners for recently approving an Advanced Life Support ambulance for the Parrish area as was recently reported in the Herald.

To maximize cost-effectiveness of our tax dollars, elected officials should think out of the box. Rapid and economical delivery of advanced life support services can be provided by utilizing some of the dual-certified firefighter/emergency medical technicians already working at various fire districts in Manatee County.

Currently FF/EMTs employed by the fire districts can only provide Basic Life Support and do not transport patients while the paramedics with County EMS provide Advanced Life Support and offer transportation to hospitals. Upgrading a FF/EMT to a FF/Paramedic is extremely cost-effective and when a fire engine is staffed with a FF/paramedic and appropriate equipment they are able to administer advanced life support to critically ill or injured patients while also providing the fire suppression and rescue capabilities.

A majority of other urbanized counties in Florida already utilize this model of Advanced Life Support services by non-transport fire engines while Manatee County lags behind the rest of the state.

The fire districts and Manatee County EMS have a very strong and highly cooperative working relationship in providing emergency medical care, but in an emergency seconds count and the sooner that advanced level of care can be provided to a person in need the better off the person will be regardless of which agency provides it.

The bottom line is that emergency services in Manatee County should be geared toward ensuring that the highest level of emergency medical care is provided in a fast, efficient and tax-dollar effective manner to our citizens and visitors and allowing the fire districts the option of providing firefighter-based non-transport ALS services should be discussed.

Randy Cooper, Chairman, West Manatee Fire & Rescue District

Manatee County

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Manatee should utilize fire district EMTs."

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