Fire Departments

[panamaniac]

I think there is an argument to be made that firefighters are overpaid, but I think the bigger issue is that EMS is understaffed.  Part of the staffing issue for EMS is related to wait times in hospitals, which is another issue entirely.

I think the thing with firefighters is that they have so much free time that they can afford to spend time doing community outreach - toy drives, school visits and what not - which makes them that much more visible to the public and reenforces the heroic image of the firefighter in children. EMS can't afford that sort of outreach because they actually have to work during their shifts.

There has actually been a push by firefighters recently to be allowed to start to take over some of the medical protocols such as administering certain medication that has traditionally been strictly the responsibility of EMS. The logic being that firefighters are almost always the first responders, and the earlier we can provide treatment, the better. This also acts as another justification for fire department budgets, incidentally. There are issues with this of course, inadequate training and education being chief among them, and it raises the question why we don't simply shuffle a little bit of money from one department to the other.

The biggest reason is likely because they are a municipal responsibility while EMS is a regional one. This also means that you can bet that the fire departments will fight tooth and nail to remain municipal departments because downsizing would be a lot easier at the regional level.

You mean because EMS workers have to stay at the hospital until the patient is admitted?