Whitman Firefighters

The Whitman Fire / Rescue and Emergency Services Department began operating a Basic Life Support ambulance in 1973. The ambulance was a 1972 Ford which was staffed 24 / 7 by Firefighter / First Responders. Previous to the Departments venture into the EMS society, injured or sick persons were transported in a Police cruiser to Brockton Hospital for treatment. Whitman Fire at the time ran 4 platoons of five members who consisted of one Officer and four Firefighters. This began the evolution of the dual role, cross trained professional in Whitman. The dual role firefighter in the 70s was that of Firefighter / First Responder. This meant that whether the citizen was experiencing a fire, a hazardous condition, or some type of medical emergency, Whitman Fire / Rescue responded with our dual role / cross trained firefighters. At that point in the history of this department, the citizens of Whitman came to know this department as a proactive, dedicated emergency service that no matter what there emergency involved, a simple call to Whitman Fire would mitigate, treat and care for them or their loved ones.

In the mid 1970’s we trained our first Basic EMT’s and began staffing our ambulance with Firefighter / EMT – Basics, one of the first Departments in the area. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s EMS was changing in the world. Paramedics were becoming more visible. Training was being offered for EMT’s to Advance to the Paramedic level. This level of training and the standard of care for patients were quickly dominating the basic EMT field. Para medicine was the future of pre-hospital EMS. Whitman Fire seeing the need for advanced care and the life saving methods needed to treat our patients leaped forward and hired its first Paramedic in the early 1990’s. This continued and with attrition and in house training, we quickly built our staff from one dual role / cross trained Firefighter / Paramedic to four by the late 1990’s and thirteen by 2007. Around 1993 Whitman Fire applied for and received a Paramedic / Basic waiver from the Department of Public Health, Office for Emergency Medical Services in Boston, and the ambulance regulation department. With two paramedics on staff in 1994, we began providing state of the art, Advanced Life Support care to the citizens of this community staffing one ambulance. By the late 1990’s, with the addition of more dual role / cross trained firefighters, and increasing call volume by triple numbers, we began operating a second Advanced Life Support ambulance. Each ambulance was staffed with a Firefighter / Paramedic arriving at your home within 3 – 4 minutes of your call for help.

Since 1966 this Department has operated a 20 member Department, 21 including the Chief of Department. In 1973 the first year we operated an ambulance we responded to 406 calls for EMS. In 2007, operating two ALS ambulances, we responded to 1,787 calls for EMS while still operating with a 20 member, fire person platoon. The frequency of multiple runs has placed demands on our system that required the addition of a third set of Advanced Life Support equipment to the new Rescue truck. This allows our Firefighter / Paramedics to begin immediate advanced measures while awaiting a mutual aid ambulance on third or fourth ambulance calls.

Our EMS system is considered by medical staff as a leader in today’s world of pre-hospital EMS. We are proud of our system and proud of the dedication and commitment our members provide to the citizens of Whitman.

What is a Paramedic? A Paramedic goes thru extensive training in upwards of a year, sometimes longer. Classroom consists of over 300 hours of participation where attendance is mandatory. Once completing the classroom portion you are required to complete over 400 hours of Hospital time, or clinical experience / training. This is where the student reports to a specified Hospital and “works” in the designated area for “skills”. The skills consist of IV therapy, drug administration, airway intubations, cardiac defibrillation / cardio-version and patient assessment to name a few. The hospital areas include the Emergency Room, CCU / ICU, Labor and Delivery, Pediatrics, Psychiatrics, Operating Room and Triage areas. After that training the student is required to perform another 200 hours of “ride time”. Ride time consists of the student riding with an ALS ambulance in a specific service. During this time the student is required to perform the techniques and skills learned in class and the hospital, now, in the back of an ambulance or in the patient’s home. After these hours are completed, and the student has achieved the correct number of “skills”, the student has met his / her requirement for examination. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health administers a computer based exam. Once passing this exam, they become certified as an EMT / Paramedic.

Basically, we bring the emergency room to your home. We have constant radio contact with the Emergency Room Physicians who treat your loved ones thru our Paramedics.