Simcoe County paramedics watch for firefighter health

CTV Barrie: Keeping firefighters safe A Simcoe County policy sees paramedics dispatched to make sure firefighters at the scene stay safe. Katherine Ward explains.

Fighting a huge fire like the one that devastated a home in Utopia, especially on a hot day like yesterday, can be dangerous for firefighters.

And now in Simcoe County it’s mandatory for paramedics to be on scene to make sure other first responders are okay.

“It's extremely hot in a fire,” says Essa Township Fire Chief Paul Macdonald. “It takes massive amounts of energy.”

Day in and day out, firefighters respond to emergencies, often putting their own lives at risk. Now a system is making sure that when crews respond their health is cared for.

“Medical monitoring is essentially monitoring the vital signs of workers who are in high stress difficult environments and they are susceptible to heat exhaustion or overload or over-physical work,” says Peter Tozer with Simcoe County Paramedic Services.

If firefighters are on the scene of a fire, paramedics here are on scene assessing firefighters.

“The fire command runs them on a regular routine of work and rest so when they come out for their rest we assess them at that time,” Tozer says.

They look at the firefighter's blood pressure, pulse and temperature and whether or not they are able to stay hydrated.

If there any serious issues identified, the firefighter won’t be allowed to go back to fight the fire.

“It isn't there to say hey, you're not going back in the fire because you're a basket case,” says Macdonald. “It's there to say hey you're doing well, or you need to sit for another five minutes.”

Some firefighters say they welcome the support.

“Sometimes the adrenaline or the emotional aspect is so overwhelming sometimes you forget how much you've been depleted,” says Domenic Fililppelli, the captain of D-platoon at Barrie Fire Department.

“Most of us take our health and our wellness very seriously and that's been another big change in our culture. We want to do this for many years and be active in our community.”

Macdonald says the time to find out whether a person is recovered from heat and stress isn’t after they’re back at the station.

“It's before he goes in, that is where the paramedics are just absolutely vital,” he says.

This kind of care will be used primarily at fires, gas leaks and the scene of serious police activity.

Once those crews have been at the scene of an emergency for half an hour, paramedics will start checking to make sure everyone is OK.