Here's how Merced Fire Station 53 came to provide paramedic services

MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Merced Fire Department present provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) services, staffing paramedics 24/7 astatine Fire Station 53.

This caller presumption comes with further training, caller equipment, and 8 paramedics astatine the presumption connected Loughborough Drive.

"Becoming an ALS section is thing that's been talked astir for my full 20 years here, we really recovered humanities documents that dated each the mode backmost to the seventies, astir implementing a paramedic program," said Merced Interim Fire Chief Casey Wilson.

About 50 years later, with enactment from the Merced City Council and a $500,000 FEMA grant, the imagination became a reality - but, the programme volition commencement lone astatine Station 53.

"There's a ample telephone measurement successful this northbound broadside of Merced, truthful they tally astir 3,500 calls a twelvemonth truthful we tin marque the astir interaction present astatine Station 53," Wilson said. 

Prior, the City of Merced's firefighters were lone EMT-trained. Now, Station 53 volition beryllium staffed with a paramedic, 24/7, 365 days a year.

"We tin get connected country alternatively of providing basal beingness support, we tin provide advanced beingness support," Wilson said. "I judge the EMTs tin springiness astir 4 oregon 5 drugs, paramedics tin springiness rather a fewer more, we person antithetic symptom medications we tin springiness anyplace from I.V. Tylenol each the mode up to ketamine, depending connected the severity of the patient's pain."

On the scene, the paramedics volition place a patient’s problem, but they volition not transportation them to the hospital.

"Riggs Ambulance is inactive the ambulance supplier successful Merced County, and this conscionable allows america to enactment them successful assessing patients and supporting them successful getting the patients to the hospital," Wilson said. 

While determination are lone 8 afloat trained paramedics close now, determination are 10 further unit either presently successful paramedic grooming oregon acceptable to commencement grooming this month.

Once the caller paramedics are each qualified, Wilson said they volition beryllium placed astatine different occurrence stations crossed the metropolis arsenic they enactment to grow the program.