[quote name='shoey' timestamp='1339686714' post='488670']
How come PBF does not run any heavy rescues and what do Pittsburgh EMS and FIRE work together on other than EMS calls why are they to seperate and not the same
[/quote]Since rescue services have been the exclusive domain of the EMS division for a long time, I guess there isn't a true need for PBF to run that style of a unit for non-rescue related functions.
As for what they work together on, well one could say "nothing". There's a long standing "fued" between the two agencies and things a particular contensious these days. The City has been in Act 47 (municipal reorganizational bankruptcy) for several years now with two separate oversight agencies. The oversight agencies aren't exactly on the same page with some stuff. There has been talk of privatizing EMS, merging EMS into PBF, sharing some duties, etc. The EMS's last contract expired over a year ago and negotiations have stalled out. One of the things coming from the oversight agencies is removing sole responsibility for rescue services from the EMS. Something EMS is so adamantly opposed to that their union supposedly turned down an opportunity several years ago to avoid elimination of their 4 BLS units along with gaining additional BLS and ALS units on duty daily and the increase in personnel needed to do that.
Over the last several years, PBF has trained almost all of their personnel to the EMT level at minimum. They have also trained and certified all of their personnel in Basic Vehicle Rescue (a PA state certification) and acquired HRT and such for their truck companies. However, they aren't able to use these due to the EMS's exclusive rights to rescue services.
IMO, the EMS side lately has been acting like whiny little children acusing the fire union of trying to steal their jobs, which they aren't doing and to date no EMS jobs have been shifted to the fire side. They blatantly accuse the firefighters of being stupid, incompotent, etc.(regarding EMS & Rescue and sometimes firefighting) and that including them in the provision of rescue services will be the end of the world and all victims will suffer a horrible fate as a result despite the numerous examples in the metro area and across the nation that clearly prove that FDs providing rescue services will not hasten the apocalypse. This is also particularly amusing considering that many, many firefighters in the City worked as Paramedics in PGH EMS before being hired by the FD and a sizable number of current PGH EMS personnel are taking the FD test currently in progress.
Based on various comments their personnel and union leadership have made, the EMS seems to think that the City is going to eliminate all of their jobs, turn over their ambulances and rescue trucks to the FD to staff and run while adding little to no additional staffing in the FD. Both are arguably "understaffed" now and you have to be in fantasy land to think that the City could merge fire and EMS and eliminate ANY field staff.
How come PBF does not run any heavy rescues and what do Pittsburgh EMS and FIRE work together on other than EMS calls why are they to seperate and not the same
[/quote]Since rescue services have been the exclusive domain of the EMS division for a long time, I guess there isn't a true need for PBF to run that style of a unit for non-rescue related functions.
As for what they work together on, well one could say "nothing". There's a long standing "fued" between the two agencies and things a particular contensious these days. The City has been in Act 47 (municipal reorganizational bankruptcy) for several years now with two separate oversight agencies. The oversight agencies aren't exactly on the same page with some stuff. There has been talk of privatizing EMS, merging EMS into PBF, sharing some duties, etc. The EMS's last contract expired over a year ago and negotiations have stalled out. One of the things coming from the oversight agencies is removing sole responsibility for rescue services from the EMS. Something EMS is so adamantly opposed to that their union supposedly turned down an opportunity several years ago to avoid elimination of their 4 BLS units along with gaining additional BLS and ALS units on duty daily and the increase in personnel needed to do that.
Over the last several years, PBF has trained almost all of their personnel to the EMT level at minimum. They have also trained and certified all of their personnel in Basic Vehicle Rescue (a PA state certification) and acquired HRT and such for their truck companies. However, they aren't able to use these due to the EMS's exclusive rights to rescue services.
IMO, the EMS side lately has been acting like whiny little children acusing the fire union of trying to steal their jobs, which they aren't doing and to date no EMS jobs have been shifted to the fire side. They blatantly accuse the firefighters of being stupid, incompotent, etc.(regarding EMS & Rescue and sometimes firefighting) and that including them in the provision of rescue services will be the end of the world and all victims will suffer a horrible fate as a result despite the numerous examples in the metro area and across the nation that clearly prove that FDs providing rescue services will not hasten the apocalypse. This is also particularly amusing considering that many, many firefighters in the City worked as Paramedics in PGH EMS before being hired by the FD and a sizable number of current PGH EMS personnel are taking the FD test currently in progress.
Based on various comments their personnel and union leadership have made, the EMS seems to think that the City is going to eliminate all of their jobs, turn over their ambulances and rescue trucks to the FD to staff and run while adding little to no additional staffing in the FD. Both are arguably "understaffed" now and you have to be in fantasy land to think that the City could merge fire and EMS and eliminate ANY field staff.
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