New equipment comes to the rescue

By Lori Porter porter@theacorn.com

SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS-Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks cuts the ribbon to dedicate a new paramedic fire truck for the Oak Park fire station on Deerhill while Ventura County Fire Department Chief Bob Roper, to her right, looks on. Also present, from left, are American Medical Response Operations Director Butch Kedrowski, AMR staff member Scott Sheldon, Ventura County Fire Department Oak Park Station Capt. Scott Dettorre, engineer Greg Taylor and firefighter/paramedic Joe Williams.

Oak Park fire station 36 is now home to a medic fire engine and three fire paramedics thanks to a new partnership between ambulance provider AMR and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Linda Parks visited the Deerhill Road station Jan. 31 to lead a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new, fully equipped engine.

The engine features an emergency medical technician defibrillator, several life-saving medications and special equipment for urban search-and- rescue.

Members of the community joined in the celebration and got a tour of the fire station and the new engine.

During the ceremony, Parks handed a certificate of resolution to Division Fire Chief Bryan Vanden Bossche stating the partnership contract.

Acknowledging that a transport ambulance is a scarce resource, Vanden Bossche said, "Now, when an AMR ambulance goes on a call, they have a paramedic ready to respond to any additional emergencies."

Fire station 36 is staffed with a paramedic/firefighter 365 days a-year, 24 hours a day.

The engine’s EMT defibrillator can only be used by trained emergency personnel, unlike the Public Access Defibrillator at Oak Park High School.

That defibrillator is for trained laymen to use on a cardiac arrest victim before paramedics arrive. Reports indicate that a Public Access Defibrillator improves survivability by up to 90 percent.

While paramedics normally respond to emergencies in Oak Park in less than eight minutes, having additional paramedics with advanced equipment at station 36 will ensure faster response times and better service.

Capt. Scott Dettorre referred to a recent diabetic emergency call before the ribbon cutting which was responded to four minutes after the 911 call.

"We were able to start the emergency services four minutes quicker than usual," said Dettorre.

The engine is equipped with drugs that manage airways, stabilize seizures, diabetic and heart attacks and also treat victims’ shock and pain.

Speaking about the partnership between Ventura County and AMR, Butch Kedrowski, operations manager for AMR said, "Together we can get a lot more accomplished than working by ourselves."

Parks said the negotiation process for the partnership was excellent and she hopes that soon all Oak Park fire stations will be equipped with a medic fire engine.