Caroline Fire & Rescue Functioning
By terry l. norton

Second in the series
Caroline County Rescue departments receive a variety of emergency calls, ranging from an upset stomach to chest pains.

Slow response times and dependence on outside departments, however, can have tragic results ñ including long-term hospitalization or death.

Fire and Rescue administration says the volume of calls, lack of availability of trained personnel and equipment, and conflicting medical guidelines add to the problem of response times.

According to Director of Caroline County Fire and Rescue Ed Fuzy, less than 25 percent of Caroline calls are responded to by outside companies. An informal study by Fuzy showed that Caroline helps other countiesí departments more than those departments help Caroline.

However, during 2004, the department received a number of calls to which its Rescue Squads were unable to respond.

A series of calls between 4:21 p.m. and 5:21 p.m. one afternoon in May exemplify the situation. A severe allergic reaction on Mattaponi trail was responded to King and Queen Rescue after repeated attempts by dispatch to mobilize a Caroline unit.

King George rescue responded to a Bowling Green Courthouse Road call of severe chest pains after 30 minutes.

Spotsylvania Rescue with a Caroline patient, Frog Level and Ladysmith Rescues were all headed to Mary Washington Hospital.

Fuzy said that larger fire and rescue departments have more Advance Life Support trained people, which requires training equivalent to three years of college. ALS providers also must complete two-weeks training a year to maintain their certification. All medics in Caroline must be certified as fire fighters.

Professional Firefighter Ed Bonham said county volunteers must take the days off from work and pay for their training. Some County rescue workers, both career and volunteer, work for wealthier counties that are able to provide the necessary training.

Another problem in Caroline, according to Bonham, is the county cannot afford the necessary fire-fighting equipment for all its medics and Emergency Medical Technicians.
Caroline County is also located between two separate Emergency Medical Systems. Mary Washington Hospital falls under protocols established by the Rappahannock Emergency Medical System (REMS). Henrico and Richmond hospitals fall under the Old Dominion Emergency Medical System Alliance (ODEMSA) protocols. Technically, Caroline is part of the REMS.

However, according to Fuzy, the combination of REMS and ODEMSA does not cause problems because Caroline Fire and Rescue recognizes both. All EMS organizations have national and state mandated requirements that keep them similar.

Fuzy said that one reason rescue squads will take patients to Richmond hospitals is that MWH does not accept the County Health Care plan. As long as the patient is stable, Fuzy said that county squads will continue to transport to the hospital of choice.

Thewatchdesk.com is a chat site for Firefighters and Rescue personnel where they can discuss situations affecting the workings of the department. Forums are broken down to states and county/city departments. The Caroline forum provides an insight into the views of the departmentís volunteers and career staff.

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