A question was recently asked why Engine Companies respond to emergency medical calls. Engines (as well as Ladders) typically arrive first on scene & are able to initiate high-quality EMS care, pending arrival of a medic unit. Dispatch of an engine (or ladder) to an EMS call is a factor in our successful EMS program. Often, the Engine company or Ladder company may be on the street in the vicinity of an EMS call and is dispatched by radio.
For a serious emergency medical call, an Engine Company (or sometimes a Ladder Company) will be dispatched along with a Paramedic Unit and EMS unit.
All firefighters are highly trained & equipped to deliver medical care. Basic EMS first aid equipment, including defibrillators and Narcan, is carried by all fire companies. (Cambridge Fire staffing includes 92 Paramedics, 135 Emergency Medical Technicians, and 47 EMS First Responders.) Once the Paramedic Unit arrives, the Engine or Ladder Company firefighters continue to assist in EMS care, including packaging and extrication of the patient. In the city, extrication may include safely carrying a patient up or down several, narrow flights of stairs to an ambulance.
Our Cambridge EMS system operates on a tiered response protocol. Some calls receive an ambulance only. Other more serious calls receive an engine (or ladder), as well as an ambulance. Top-tiered calls, the most serious in nature, receive a fire company, an ambulance, as well as a paramedic unit. Cambridge Fire Engine 1, Rescue 1, and Squads 2, 3, & 4 are Advanced Life Support/Paramedic Units.
As part of our public safety team effort, Professional Ambulance staff, as well as Cambridge Police Officers work alongside our firefighters to deliver high quality emergency medical care.
The Cambridge Emergency Communications staff is well trained in emergency medical dispatch and is a key component in our Cambridge EMS system.
In 2023, Cambridge Fire Companies responded to nearly 8000 EMS calls.
The tiered response and rapid action of our public safety partners working as a team is part of the reason why our cardiac arrest save rates are almost twice the national average.
All firefigters are trained to the medical first responder level, and in Cambridge, most are trained and certified to the EMT Basic or Paramedic level. Medical training is continually ongoing for all members.