City of Houston Emergency Medical Service
The Houston Fire Department handles all emergency medical services within the City of Houston and all members of the department are trained in EMS procedures. The firefighters rotate between the fire fighting apparatus and the EMS units from day to day in accordance with the cross training that they receive. There are two levels of EMS certification that the Houston Fire Department recognizes; EMT-Basic and EMT-Paramedic. There are no EMS providers for the Houston Fire Department that are not also firefighters. All of HFD EMS ambulances are Type I, "Frazer Bilt", ambulances.
Due to the large coverage area, HFD EMS operates on a tiered response system, which means that certain levels of EMS are dispatched when they are determined to be needed. While there are some MICU ambulances in the HFD EMS fleet, most are BLS equipped. Typically, a BLS ambulance will be dispatched to a medical call. When the unit arrives on scene and determines that ALS is required, a paramedic squad will be dispatched to their location to assist. HFD EMS strives to have an ambulance or first responder (which usually consists of an engine company), on scene within four minutes, with ALS support within eight minutes if needed.
Read more about this topic: Houston Fire Department, Background
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