Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Ken Barstow is a firefighter/paramedic with the Saratoga Fire District.

Local firefighters enter a new era of life-saving

By Michelle Alaimo

Starting this month, Saratoga firefighters will "put an emergency room on a fire truck and bring it to your front door," Saratoga Fire District Chief Ernie Kraule said.

The Saratoga Fire District has added a new firefighter/paramedic position, which allows certified firefighters/paramedics to administer advanced life support, said Saratoga district emergency medical coordinator Ron Vega.

Although the position is new to Saratoga, it is not new to the county. Vega said the city of San Jose has had paramedics on all its fire trucks for two years.

The position is an important addition to the fire trucks because normally firefighters arrive at an emergency call before the ambulance does, Vega said.

"It can mean the difference between life and death," he said. Previously, firefighters were only trained as emergency medical technicians and could not administer anything other than basic patient care. Now, firefighters who have gone through years of training and have become certified by both the city and the state can administer care similar to what paramedics offer.

American Medical Response (AMR) helped fund and train the firefighters. The ambulance company even loaned the Saratoga Fire District some equipment. Vega said because of AMR's help, the fire district's budget was not affected.

Currently, two firefighters have completed the yearlong training course at Foothill College. Another firefighter is expected to complete training within the next few weeks.

Ken Barstow, a firefighter/paramedic, said training is completed in three stages. The first stage is about nine months of intensive classroom training in anatomy and physiology. The next stage, Barstow said, is being assigned to a nurse preceptor at a hospital. That stage, which lasts two to three months, is when the firefighter puts the classroom knowledge to work.

In the final stage, the firefighter is usually placed on an ambulance with an experienced field paramedic for a minimum of 480 hours. Here, the firefighter is in charge of medical calls that come in and must actually give medical attention.

"It's pretty intensive," Barstow said. "It's the make-it-or-break-it part."

Once training is done, the firefighters must complete several exams for the state and county to become certified. Santa Clara County also requires advanced training and exams in pediatrics and trauma, Barstow said.

Training is an ongoing process, Barstow said. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't study."

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