Heat dome deaths change firefighter training in BC city

Firefighters in the BC city that had the highest death rate during the 2021 heatwave will be able to provide more medical response during the next mass casualty or extreme weather event.

The city of New Westminster announced Monday that members of the fire department are now designated as “emergency medical responders,” meaning they can assess a wider range of vital signs and administer more medications and treatments.

The increased training came in direct response to first responders’ experience during the heatwave, when paramedics were overwhelmed with calls, according to Deputy Chief Brad Davie, who says he strongly believes firefighters could have saved lives if they had had this. training at the time.

“Crews were stuck on the scene for quite some time with no support from the BC Ambulance Service,” he told CTV News.

“That was a morale booster for us because one of the things that was very frustrating and mentally tough for firefighters was when they had somebody in front of them that needed help and they didn’t have the resources available to help them. it can be quite traumatic for firefighters”.

Thirty-three people died in New Westminster during the heatwave, which accounted for just over five percent of the province’s 691 deaths. However, the per capita death rate was 41.8 per 100,000, according to the coroner’s extreme heat death review panel. Davies says it’s impossible to know exactly how many lives could have been saved in 2021, but he has no doubt the death toll would have been lower.

New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone, in a news release, said the number of medical calls in recent years due to extreme weather has been “overwhelming” and “demonstrated the critical need for more emergency medical resources to prevent delays in providing time-sensitive treatment. .”

Equipping more first responders to respond to more situations, he added, will take some of the pressure off paramedics and better equip the city to respond during mass casualty events or emergencies.

Davies said being able to better assess patients will allow firefighters to help triage the cases that need the most urgent attention and prioritize the patients who need the most urgent medical attention.

“We’re doing a better job of determining who is sicker and who is healthier with these new patient assessment tools,” he explained.

Davies said there would also be an impact on day-to-day operations, allowing firefighters to take more action to “reduce loss of life”. On average, half of the calls that come in each day are for “pre-hospital medical calls,” according to the city.

The expanded scope allows firefighters to, among other things, assess blood oxygen levels and chest sounds, administer medications for emergency cardiac events, and treat anaphylaxis with epinephrine for extreme allergic reactions.

“It’s been pretty well received, this extra training, by the firefighters. They’re pretty excited about it — to be able to help in more ways than they’ve been able to help before,” Davies said.