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Motor Medics
The
Motor Medic Program was introduced by the
Daytona Beach Fire Department in April 1995. It
was conceived as an effort to provide speedy and effective emergency medical services to
patients in extremely congested traffic or crowded conditions. It involved pairing EMTs
and Paramedics with motorcycles to respond to emergency medical calls. The motorcycles
offer maneuverability through gridlock conditions that occur during special events like
Bike Week, Daytona 500, Pepsi 400 and Spring Break. If the motorcycles are operating in grid patterns, the
response time can be minimal compared to an engine’s response time.
The program involved obtaining
Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycles from the police department and retrofitting them at the fire
department. A removable pod was mounted over the rear wheel to carry medical equipment.
The paramedics and EMTs in the program were required to complete the same 40-hour training
program required of motorcycle police officers.
Since its inception, the Motor Medics Team
has been embraced by the community, and is regularly seen at fire service funerals, media
promotions, high profile public relations affairs, and other Fire/EMS related
demonstrations and activities.
Beach Patrol Rescue/Patrol Boat
The
Beach Patrol has a new 21-foot Boston Whaler guardian serving as a rescue/patrol boat. The
new vessel is equipped with a full set of basic life support equipment and is staffed by
at least one state certified EMT. The operator is also a law enforcement officer with
citation and arrest powers . The rescue/patrol vessel is utilized in the Ponce Inlet area
to help control the exploding popularity of personal watercraft. In recent years the Inlet
has been the scene of several watercraft and boating accidents. A few of which resulted in
fatalities . The presence of the marked patrol vessel drastically decreases the reckless
behavior of watercraft operators.
The popularity of the disappearing islands that
are just west of the Inlet has grown in recent years. These islands offer boaters an area
that allows animals and the consumption of alcoholic beverages. On the week ends it is not
uncommon to see upwards of 500 vessels and personal water craft on and around these
islands. With the new rescue boat the beach patrol has the ability to deliver EMS services
to this group of county residents and visitors on these remote islands.
Tox-Medics
Volusia
County’s Hazardous Materials Team is enhanced by the use of specially
trained members in emergency medical response to hazardous materials.
These members of the team are certified Florida Paramedics who have taken
and passed a 32-hour course in medical response to hazardous materials.
They have studied areas such as hazardous materials concepts, chemical
behavior, toxicology, treatment and medical surveillance. These team
members provide medical surveillance and care to the entry team and other
members of the HAZMAT response team. They are also responsible for the
care and specialized treatment of any injury caused by nuclear, biological
or chemical agent. Members of the Tox-Medic group also participate in 16
hours of continuing education, annually, that includes large-scale
exercises, case studies and various training courses in nuclear,
biological and chemical weapons medical response.
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