Station 85 on Harbor Road now has a paramedic and new advanced medical equipment available at all times as part of a change being made at all stations in the Contra Costa County Fire District.
As first responders, firefighter paramedics can use the new equipment to help victims before an ambulance shows up to an emergency scene.
Capt. John Kipp said the average response time for firefighters is five and a half minutes, while the average response time for an ambulance is 10 minutes.
Firefighters and paramedics showed the equipment to the City Council last week. The new equipment was made available in the Pittsburg station in January.
Kipp said the new equipment is essential in making Station 85 more effective and efficient as it is the second busiest single engine station in the district.
"There are a lot of people here who need our service, and this equipment gives us a versatility we didn't have before," he said.
Kipp said a large elderly population, socio-economic conditions and Highway 4 make it a high call area. The busiest single engine station in the district is in San Pablo.
Ben Sanders, a firefighter paramedic at Station 85, presented the new equipment to the council.
"This equipment allows us to begin life-saving efforts before the ambulance shows up, saving valuable time for the victims," Sanders said.
The advanced life support bags include one with numerous medicines to administer to victims, an intravenous kit and medicine that will jump-start a heart.
The medics also carry a more advanced cardiac monitor that can read multiple rhythms of the heart and a pediatric airway management bag. New tools can allow the paramedics to insert a tube in the throat of someone with a blocked airway to control his or her breathing.
Pittsburg currently has stations at 200 E. 6th Street, 2555 Harbor Street and 800 W. Leland Road. The Harbor Street station is the only one with Advance Life Support service. The remaining stations should have a firefighter paramedic on each truck and the equipment in the next six months, Kipp said.
Two of the four stations in Antioch and the one in Bay Point have ALS service.
Of the 28 stations in the county, 23 have ALS service, Kipp said.
The district started training firefighters to become paramedics about six years ago. Paramedics were placed in fire stations with slower ambulance response times first, Kipp said.
The Contra Costa County Fire District serves 10 cities and five unincorporated areas in the county.
Reach Danielle McNamara at 925-779-7174 or (mailto:dmcnamaracctimes.com) dmcnamaracctimes.com.
The Contra Costa County Fire District received 4,123 calls in Pittsburg during the 2004 calendar year. Here's the break down:
Medical - 2,930
Hazard/service calls - 925
False alarms - 126
Structure fires - 84
Vehicle fires - 32
Open space/wildland fires - 26
Distributed by the Associated Press
