Emergency Medical Services
Full-time uniformed Department members are state certified at the Emergency Medical Technician I level with Automatic External Defibrillator endorsements. EMT-I certification requires approximately 130 hours of initial training and testing, 24 hours of continuing professional education annually, and re-testing bi-annually.
Because Fire Department resources are more broadly distributed than transporting ambulances, a fire engine is dispatched to every medical emergency requiring a Code 3 (red light and siren) response of an ambulance. Firefighters arrive at these emergencies ahead of the ambulance over 90% of the time. The first arriving firefighters assess and stabilize the patient. Extrication is performed if necessary and preparation for transport is begun. Often a firefighter EMT-I must ride to the hospital in the back of the ambulance to assist the Paramedic with the patient.
A number of Fire Department personnel are state licensed Paramedics. This requires over 1,000 hours of training, clinical practice and testing. A rigouous regimen of continuing professional education and testing is applied. The Department has a Non-Transporting Provider Agreement with Nor-Cal Emergency Medical Services, Inc. which is the contract EMS Agency for a number of northern California counties including Butte. Nor-Cal establishes protocols and assists with quality assurance. Enloe Medical Center, which is a Level II Trauma Center, serves as the Base Hospital for department Paramedics.
The primary role of the Department Paramedics is to support the activities of the Special Teams such as Technical Rescue, Hazardous Material Response, and Police SWAT. They may also act as paramedics under the supervision of the ambulance charge-medic or during any officially declared emergency.
Emergency medical transport within the City is provided by two private operators governed by the Butte County Ambulance Ordinance. They are Enloe Medical Center, which is the base hospital, and First Responder Emergency Medical Services, Inc. All ambulances in the county operate with a minimum of one Paramedic and one EMT-I assigned. The two providers rotate first due coverage daily between the northern and southern sections of the City. There are no Fire Department transport units in the county and none are planned.
