Don’t be surprised if firefighters respond when you call for ambulance
Firefighters have been responding to medical emergencies for many years (as co-responders with St John or Wellington Free Ambulance or as first responders). In 2014 we signed a memorandum of understanding with St John and Wellington Free Ambulance formalising this arrangement.
Our firefighters are trained and save lives on these calls, but we know our people are still occasionally met with surprise, and on a couple of occasions with aggression, when they respond to medical emergencies alongside our ambulance services.
In the lead up to Restart a Heart day on 16 October, we are working with St John and Wellington Free Ambulance to raise awareness so the public are not surprised if firefighters turn up to a medical emergency when they have called for an ambulance. We are reassuring people our firefighters are trained to respond to such situations and they are there to help.
We have begun sharing content on our social media channels to highlight that our firefighters are trained and it is not unusual for firefighters to be first on the scene at a medical event, where they provide basic life support.
You can find these posts on our Facebook(external link) page.
- Career firefighters from Ilam fire station reuniting with a patient they revived after he suffered a cardiac arrest.(external link)
- Little River Volunteer Fire Brigade receiving medical training from St John(external link)
- Career firefighters from Howick fire station reuniting with Paul Hancock, a patient they revived after he suffered a cardiac arrest.(external link)
- Firefighters from Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade helping revive Chris Molineaux, after he suffered a cardiac arrest.(external link)
Cardiac arrest survivor Paul Hancock reunites with the career frefighters from Howick Station and St John paramedics that saved his life.
Keep an eye out on our social media channels for more of these messages.
If you have a story which could be used for this awareness raising, we’d love to hear it. Share it with us by emailing media@fireandemergency.nz.