[fatboy]

I’m a volunteer firefighter and volly EMT. If I were in the same situation I would ask for permission from medical command before transporting a patient in a fire truck. If command said no, wait for EMS then I would wait for EMS. One time I came within 30 seconds of asking for permission when EMS became available. This was a critical patient involved in an MVA that needed to be transported to an aero-medical landing zone.

In the meantime I would treat the patient and prepare the patient for transport. A fire truck is not set up to transport patients and my fire company is not insured to do so. Protocols are there for a reason. I don’t expect that my views are going to be praised but the liability is not worth it without permission.

[COBOL2Java]

A fire truck is not set up to transport patients and my fire company is not insured to do so.

Oooh, didn't think about that point! Had the child died in the fire truck en route, that would have been a nasty lawsuit.

[BillyBonebrake]

Yours is the right answer. I’m also an EMT. Med control can make or break you.

[Gator113]

I was EMT certified and served as an LEO for 30 years. You gave the right answer.

[cva66snipe]

Our nation has lost all commons sense and replaced it with CYA mode thanks to our dysfunctional court system. A little over 30 years ago my girlfriend collapsed in a mall at the food court. I ran outside and got her car {I had a CJ-5 I drove to meet her there} and pulled it to the nearest entrance and carried her out to it and put her in the front seat. It was a 73 Gremlin. A city cop pulled up behind me and asked which hospital do you need to go to? I told him the name of the one close to us. He said OK I'll take the lead & you follow me close. He turned on lights and siren and we were at the ER in a few short minutes and it was about 8-10 miles away. Her condition was critical an onset of quadriplegia. He didn't say wait on an ambulance. Had he done so I don't think she would have made it.

Others in more recent times have not been as fortunate though. Barney will pull them over and despite the obvious urgent need such as bleeding to death would make the persons wait for an ambulance with the hospital literally only blocks away. Our nation is loosing it's common sense.

I live out in a rural area. The ambulance HQ for years was about 12 miles out on rural roads "IF" the one zoned for our area wasn't tied up on another call. Now it's staged about 8 miles out same roads. If it's busy the next close one could be up to 20 out. The hospital with me driving my vehicle is 15 minutes away on mainly good highway and interstate. 20 minutes would put me at a Level One if needed. In the near 30 years we were married I think I called an ambulance but once. The other times I rushed her in myself because it was faster and yes I was trained and qualified to make the assessments.

By this new prevailing logic a Rescue Squad rescuing persons in a flash flood would only be allowed to carry the number of rescued in their boat they had life jackets for.

The firefighters put saving life over liability. The insurers should cover life and death transports in any vehicle same as an private policy holder and liability medically fall under Samaritan Laws as far as any medical liability goes in doing so.

My area is VFD covered. They send out a SUV for medical calls though & not the truck. They usually beat the ambulance by 5-10 minutes. I know that because I called them several times for my dad and once for my mom due to falls at home.