Bay City Professional Fire Fighters Local 116

NFPA Standard 1710 recommends "fire companies, whose primary functions are to pump and deliver water and perform basic fire fighting at fires, including search and rescue... shall be staffed with a minimum of four on-duty personnel. (39) Fire companies whose primary functions are to perform the variety of services associated with truck work, such as forcible entry, ventilation, search and rescue, aerial operations for water delivery and rescue, utility Control, illumination, overhaul and salvage work... shall [also] be staffed with a minimum of Four on-duty personnel" (40). According to studies performed by the Dallas, Texas and Westerville, Ohio Fire Departments, four fire fighters are capable of performing the rescue of potential victims 80% faster than a crew of three fire fighters.(41) Currently, BCFD engine companies are staffed with two to three fire fighters, out of compliance with existing national standards. While the BCFD may be meeting response time performance objectives contained within the NFPA 1710 Standard it is failing to meet staffing performance objectives.

The Importance of the 4-minute Engine Company Response in the Provision of Emergency Medical Services:

The Standard further states that a "fire department shall establish the response time objectives of 4 minutes or less for the arrival of a unit with first responder or higher capability at an emergency medical incident.". (42) Rapid emergency medical response is essential in improving survival rates. For cardiac arrest- one of the most time-critical medical emergencies that can be treated in the field- the highest hospital discharge rate has been achieved in , patients in whom CPR was initiated within 4 minutes of arrest and ACLS within 8 minutes. (43) The use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) by trained personnel is integral to this treatment and the survival of cardiac arrest. If fire fighters responding within 4 minutes of receiving an alarm initiate CPR, the probability of patient survival quadruples, from 4.6% to 18.2%. If those same fire fighters are equipped and trained to provide defibrillation, the expected survival rate is five times greater at 25.8%. Finally, if those fire fighters are trained and equipped as paramedics, the survival rate is increased to 34.3% - nearly a sevenfold increase.(44)

While patient survivability from cardiac arrest depends upon a series of critical interventions, "rapid defibrillation is the most important single factor in determining survival.". (45) If defibrillation is initiated in less than 2 minutes, the survival rate from cardiac arrest can be as high as 90%. But, "if defibrillation is delayed more than 10 minutes, survival rates drop to less than 5%.". (46)

39 NFPA 1710, Section 5.2.2.1 and 5.2.2.1.1

40 NFPA 1710, Section 5.2.2.2 and 5.2.2.2.1

41 McMannin Associates and John T. O'Hagan and Associates, "Dallas Fire Department Staffing Level Study," June 1984; pp. 1-2 and II-I through 11-7; Morrison, Richard C., "Manning Levels for Engine and Ladder Companies in Small Fire Departments," 1990.

42 NFPA Standard 1710, Section4.1.3.1.1 (2)

43 The Journal of the American Medical Association, October 28,1992; p. 2184

44 "Predicting Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Graphic Model," Annals ~ Emergency Medicine, November 1993

45 The Journal of the American Medical Association, October 28, 1992; p. 2289.

46 American Heart Association (1992)