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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 6 <br /> William Snoke stated that the need for firefighters as first responders is fairly well established in <br /> their industry; patients do better when you get someone their quickly to administer oxygen or start <br /> CPR, or control bleeding, but also to control the scene. Law enforcement has other duties and <br /> may not always be able to respond. Having the fire department available to respond to those calls <br /> provides a higher likelihood that there will be a trained first responder on scene. <br /> Mike Salter stated there is a laddering effect; police and fire get to the scene first and the police <br /> have the least amount of medical training but at least they're on scene with oxygen and an AED. <br /> Beyond the patient care is the care of the family; some families fight during an emergency and the <br /> Sheriff's deputy must deal with those issues. Once the paramedics arrive on scene, the medical <br /> treatment is deferred to them and the first responders assist in moving the patient. If you don't <br /> have the Sheriff, LJFD and AMT on scene, it becomes very difficult to provide meaningful patient <br /> care in a timely manner. <br /> Mayor Grant commented that in a medical emergency you need someone who can be there <br /> immediately, especially as more technology and equipment is used in emergency situations. He <br /> also believes this follows along with the mission of police and fire to Protect and Serve. <br /> Tim Boehlke explained that when the Board of Directors made the decision to have the <br /> firefighters respond to medical calls when they're staffed, it made sense to utilize trained and <br /> equipped firefighters who are sitting in the station available to augment the current services. He <br /> added that it's rare for firefighters to be tied up on an EMS call for more than ten minutes. He <br /> also stated that when responding to an emergency medical call, they are walking into businesses <br /> . and homes of strangers and tensions can be high and having the Sheriff's Department there makes <br /> everyone feel better. <br /> Councilmember Holmes questioned what percentage of the time is the number of respondents <br /> "overkill". <br /> Brian LaCroix stated that is a difficult question to answer in terms of providing a statistic. But <br /> he added that having a uniformed presence is reassuring. <br /> Mayor Grant commented that there may be some calls when they are over-staffed but there are <br /> other calls when lives were saved. <br /> Eric Nordeen, Lake Johanna Fire Department, stated there are times when the deputy may be in <br /> route and gets called away to another emergency and they let LJFD personnel know. If they're <br /> going into a possible psych issue, they need the deputies there and the deputies do a good job of <br /> knowing when they need to be on scene. <br /> Scott Williams, Ramsey County Emergency Communications, stated other communities have the <br /> Sheriff and fire department respond to medical emergencies. <br /> Mayor Grant commented that if all communities respond the same way, it is easier for dispatch <br /> to handle the medical emergency calls without having to differentiate between various municipal <br /> policies. <br />