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First Responders

What is First Responders?

First Responders is a partnership between Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Service and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service. Its aim is to provide rapid medical assistance to people with life threatening conditions situated in rural areas, where a normal ambulance may take some time to reach. Warwickshire's First Responders began in 1998, there are other similar schemes running throughout the Country.

Who are the First Responders?

First Responders are normally retained Firefighters who volunteer to be part of the scheme. This ensures that they live locally to the areas that need them so they can respond quickly. Retained Firefighters from Southam started the scheme in Warwickshire and this has since expanded to include Firefighters from Studley and Shipston. The volunteers from these three Stations provide good coverage for the mainly rural, south of Warwickshire.

What training and equipment is provided to the Firefighters?

Retained Firefighters volunteer to be First Responders. All Firefighters have First Aid training but First Responders are given additional training in more advanced techniques by the Ambulance Service. Following eight hours of training the Firefighter is required to sit an exam, on successful completion of this exam they can become a First Responder. Every six months a reassessment takes place to ensure that the highest standards are maintained.

Once qualified the First Responder is issued with a second pager (they already carry one for the Fire Service) and kit consisting of:

  • High visibility waistcoat
  • AED - heart start machine
  • Oxygen
  • Airway maintenance equipment
  • First aid kit

The equipment is provided by the Ambulance Service

How does the scheme work?

999 calls go to the ambulance control room in the usual way to be processed. If the call that is taken is deemed to be life threatening and the patient is located in an area covered by First Responders, the control staff will operate one of the pagers alerting a First Responder Firefighter to attend. The ambulance is still mobilised in the normal way.

The Firefighters pager will operate and their aim is to attend the incident within eight minutes. This is considerably quicker than the Ambulance can expect to get there due to the First Responder being situated locally.

Life threatening conditions that qualify for First Responder to attend are:

  • Chest pains
  • Choking
  • Cardiac arrest
  • Unconsciousness