Motorcycle Ambulance - Are you getting one?

[HellsBells]

Then, there is the Segway... I want one, just because I think the device looks "cool", but that is just me

You can't be serious.

[Richard B the EMT]

My name is Richard, so I am not serious. lol

Let's face it, there are so many things out there, were we to have our "druthers", we would like to have. Like my 4 wheel drive Rolls Royce minivan? There isn't one...YET!

[yorkdruid]

May pay you to explore the New South Wales Ambulance Service in Australia that have been using motor cycles for quite a number of years now with success. especially within the big city where it is nearly impossible to get decent quick response times during peak hour

[Richard B the EMT]

I have never been outside the North American Continent, or the Caribbean Islands, so I cannot comment on anything in New South Wales.

However, whoever authorizes the departmental usage of a motorcycle, a mo-ped, a Segway, a bicycle, a battery powered golf cart, a motorized golf cart, hell, even a unicycle, will, undoubtedly be taking into account many things. Start with the roads, or lack of them, train tracks that an operator might try ducking under when a stopped train might be blocking the crossings, public recognition that the vehicle is actually an authorized unconventional emergency vehicle, training for the personnel to safely operate said unconventional vehicle, insurance to cover the operation of the vehicle, and perhaps what should have been first on my list, the cost of procuring these vehicles.

If the department wants it, if the public wants you to have it, and if the members feel it could be useful, hey, buy something, and report back here, to us, the good, the bad, and the ugly, of the usage and usefulness of the vehicle in your geographic/political area.

[Dale]

motorcycles have their uses in getting "into" a congested area quickly. That is why police use them in many areas where traffic stops a normal size vehicle from traveling. I think there are even a few European fire departments (and Hong Kong, too) that have FD response on "bikes" for first responders. They can do a quick assessment and either cancel or upgrade the follow-up response to that call depending upon what they find.

I recall some areas in the Metro Chicago area using motorcycles years ago as a method to overcome massive road construction and delays on the freeways in that area.

As for uniforms, I note that many of the European motorcycle crews wear brightly colored heavy-duty "safety-style" clothing with reflective/fluorescent striping so they are highly visible be it riding the bike or standing in the roadway. No one confuses them for anything else.

Makes sense to wear that versus a shortsleeve shirt so if you have to take a "skid", it lessens the potential for road rash (or worse.)

[Niftymedi911]

http://www.segway.com/downloads/pdfs/Case_...ChicagoFire.pdf

Chicago FD/divison of EMS utilizes these for downtown response in congested areas as well as during crowded events and the like.........

Our agency was trying to get a set of these for a team to respond at our Major airport RSW. SouthWest International Airport. The idea was to have an ALS segway crew respond as first responders on calls and can advise if a transport truck woudl be needed. There are numeorus BLS calls everyday that are cancelled because RSW calls for stupid crap. Lac to finger, pedi vs. vehicle at .5 mph, I just want my blood pressure checked, burn in lap from coffee during flight, eyc. the list goes on and on. There have been 13 calls that have required ALS intervention since they opened the new terminal 3 years ago. Not very much really is worth sending a transport unit. Our County Commissioner's were on board, but because the Chief of Crash Fire/Rescue didn't like the idea, because they would be able to not justify they're budget and response, they decided against it. So now for every call Medic 25 gets sent wether its a cut finger or public assitance. BS!!!!!!!

The Dammned fire departments need to realize they have no business in EMS. You guys play with hoses and want to run into burning buidlings thats fine, but DO NOT tell me that EMS belongs with FD and I need to be fire certified, I will kick your ass.

[spenac]

The Dammned fire departments need to realize they have no business in EMS. You guys play with hoses and want to run into burning buidlings thats fine, but DO NOT tell me that EMS belongs with FD and I need to be fire certified, I will kick your ass.

AMEN.

Now it has been interesting hearing how citys have used various ways to cut response time. Where I'm at might as well take the ambulance as not much traffic.

[speedygodzilla]

The Dammned fire departments need to realize they have no business in EMS. You guys play with hoses and want to run into burning buidlings thats fine, but DO NOT tell me that EMS belongs with FD and I need to be fire certified, I will kick your ass.

Well I won't tell you to get a fire certificate. I am more than willing to have both, as I am not only interested in fire but also interested in EMS so they fit together well for me. If you don't like the idea of fire and EMS together don't work in a city that uses it.

[mstovall]

In a Maxim article a few years ago they mentioned the EMS segway. Check it out. It is in use overseas in Europe.

http://www.defrance.org/artman/publish/article_1205.shtml

Michael

[Richard B the EMT]

I previously mentioned the MoPeds for a subway strike in 1980, and the Cushman Carts for the Statue of Liberty Centennial in 1986? Both were before the merger into the FDNY in 1996. The John Deere "Gators" were post-merger. (I am from the old NYC EMS from 1985, and under FDNY management after March 17, 1996 to posting date)

I have mentioned that some Fire Departments ASKED to be given EMS responsibilities, others had the decision FORCED on them. Please do not lump them together. In either case, there are success and failure stories on both ends of the issue, and that issue is not what this string was started for.