This edition of Code 3 may make you a little uncomfortable. It’s about racial bias among EMS providers. And while that bias may be unconscious, it affects patients all the same. My guest today led a comprehensive study of nearly 26,000 EMS encounters in Oregon over two years. The results are disturbing. The data showed that medics were less likely to do a pain assessment on Hispanic and Asian patients than whites. It also found that black patients were 40 percent less likely to be given pain meds. What’s going on here? Certainly, no medic goes on a run thinking that a minority patient’s going to get different treatment. Jamie Kennel is the director of the Paramedic Program, a joint program between Oregon Health and Science University, and the Oregon Institute of Technology, where he’s an associate professor. He’s also a co-founder of Healthcare Equity Group – they help EMS organizations improve the equity of their care.

Okay, here’s an idea that’s guaranteed to divide opinions: The Cosumnes Fire District, near Sacramento, California, is using virtual reality technology to train firefighters for structure fires. Officials say the VR goggles are a cost-effective way to train on a variety of scenarios that would otherwise be expensive to create. The company that makes the system is loaning it to the fire district for evaluation. I have a lot of questions and I’m sure you do, too. Today, I’m talking with Cosumnes Fire District Battalion Chief Rick Clarke about what he thinks of the idea so far.

Lots of departments require you to be a paramedic as well as a firefighter, but that can lead to conflict. In some departments, this cross training means firefighters are assigned to ambulances. Many of them end up wanting to get out of otherwise excellent work environments because they don’t want to deal with an EMS role as their primary job. How you view this situation is largely a matter of attitude, of course. Ben Thompson wrote an article on firefighting from an ambulance a while back for FireRescue1.com. He’s a lieutenant for the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service. He’s been the coordinator of the department’s mobile integrated health program, Birmingham Fire and Rescue C.A.R.E.S., since 2016.

After many years of being called “firefighters”, there is a small but persistent group pushing back. They want to be called “firemen” again. Perhaps surprisingly, some of those people are women. They also want to be called firemen. It comes from an attitude that says women should strive to be a part of the team, not to ask that the team change for them. Also important here is a feeling that, in past years, women in the fire service have been excessively accommodated…that they’ve been given unnecessary special treatment. Today’s guest says women in firefighting should not expect nor be given any specific accommodations just because they’re female. Got your attention? Let me introduce you to Alexis Shady.She’s a fireman—not firefighter—and EMT with the Bellefontaine, Ohio Fire Department. She wrote an article for Fire Engineering called, “I Am the Problem.”

If you’re listening to this edition of Code 3, congratulations! You made it through the 2010s. It was a turbulent decade for first responders of all kinds. And the ride’s likely to get even more bumpy into the next decade. What were the trends that made the 2010’s a challenge..and where are we going? Greg Friese, Editor-in-chief of EMS1.com took a look back at the lowlights and has some predictions.

You may be a TRT specialist in your department. Or you might be a novice. Either way, you’ve probably realized that rope rescue gear has become very technical. NFPA 1983 is very specific about the details required to make rope suitable for various tasks. And then there’s NFPA 1670, and others, too. With the bewildering number of choices out there how do you pick the right rope material, or friction device, or even carabiner? Here to explain which is best for what situation is Dale Stewart. Dale owns AHSRescue.com, a company that supplies rope equipment and training to the emergency services community. He’s worked with Phoenix Fire as an instructor in their mutual aid program as a consultant for rope and water rescue since 1987.

Technical rescues are high-risk/low-frequency incidents, and that means training on them is critical. One slip, and you could have a very bad day. If you know NFPA 1006, you know the minimum KSAs are tough. But departments routinely face problems with training when they have a shortage of really good instructors, current equipment, and funding for adequate training time. Back with me on Code 3 to offer some solutions is Dalan Zartman. Dalan is a technical-rescue expert for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security. He serves as regional training program director and advisory board member at Bowling Green State University. Dalan is a member of the Central Ohio Strike Team and the Washington Township Fire Department. He’s founder and president of Rescue Methods.

One of the most important roles of a leader is to take care of their crew. That means if you’re a company officer, you need to be aware of your crew members’ emotional state.
We’ve all heard that the job can lead to PTSD, and I certainly hope that you accept that. It’s proven, and it’s a fact just like falling from a ladder can cause a broken arm or leg. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to be looking for signs of emotional trauma. Then, you can take steps to help. My guest to explain how to do that is Jared Meeker. He’s a fire chief in a combination fire department in upstate New York, and has over 30 years’ experience in the fire service. He teaches incident command skills for fire officers and career survival skills for all first responders.

If you’ve listened to this show for any length of time, you know realistic training scenarios … and sometimes the lack of them … are my thing. Learning the fundamentals is always the key to later skill-building. So it’s important to get focused on training for bread-and-butter operations.. those common skills that sometimes are taken for granted. How do we develop a program that covers this ground when we’re working with multiple different generations that all learn differently? Today, we’re talking with Lt. Stephen Rhine about how to accomplish this. Steve’s been with the FDNY for 17 years. He’s also the Training Coordinator and former Captain of the Roslyn Volunteer Fire Department. He’s a certified New York State Fire Instructor and a Haz-Mat Tech Level 1. And he’s a PIO with the FDNY Incident Management Team.

If you’ve been in the fire service long enough, you probably remember when firefighters with a trade skill were highly valued. These were the guys who came into the job knowing things like engine repair, or electrical, or even plumbing. But these days, it seems those skills are not valued much anymore. Now, hiring and promotion are based largely on test scores and education. How did we get here? And is this okay? Or are we missing something? My guest to discuss this is Chad Costa. He’s a battalion chief with the City of Petaluma, California Fire Department. He has two decades in the fire service, and he’s worked in some pretty diverse situations, from a rural department to a city as well as CAL FIRE. Chad is the technology and communications battalion chief and a division group supervisor on California Interagency Team 5.