Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority takes on role in Emergency Medical Services as serious as its commitment to firefighting. It was in 1984 that the Fire Board decided to provide paramedic services to the community. The District hired a full-time EMS Coordinator who was given the direction to develop a paramedic program. Within a year paramedics were hired and placed on all staffed Engines. Today, nearly half of our firefighters are Certified Emergency Paramedics. To ensure the highest level of care is provided to our customers each engine company is staffed with at least one Paramedic on board. Approximately, EMS calls account for two-thirds of all types of calls to which we respond.
Every uniform member is at minimum a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and must maintain their certification throughout their career. Personnel are trained in Continuous Chest Compression (CCR) and the use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AED’s). Firefighters wanting to become Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Paramedics undergo an intense program of over 1100 hours of training. The training consists of didactical, clinical and vehicular training. Paramedics use a variety of advanced skills and equipment to care for patients which may include any of the following: Intubation, 12-lead interpretation, External Pacing, EZ IO, IV Therapy, Drug Therapy, Defibrillation or CCR. All personnel are also trained in many other aspects of patient care such as vehicle stabilization and extrication (The Jaws of Life).
In addition to the necessary medical and technical skills needed to treat each customer, we strive to treat each patient with the greatest professionalism and concern for their overall well being.