They often bring the big firetruck to single person medical emergencies where none of the big gadgets are needed (like to cut someone out of a car) so I don't understand why they don't just send an ambulance. Is this an actual thing in the US or is the show being inaccurate?
shareFire fighters are trained paramedics, and a lot of times dispatchers don't know the severity of a situation so they will send for the worst case scenario, which could just mean more hands on deck. I believe in the US Ambulances only have 2 people in them, so if they have to bring a person up or down a flight of stairs, or any other scenario like that. Also, most cities have more firetrucks than they do ambulances, as well as having more fire stations/halls.
I'm sure there are other reasons, but that's how it works in my city, and I'm in Canada, not the US.
That is how it is in the US, too. Better to be safe that sorry. I was once trapped in a suck elevator and the response was to send an ambulance, the police and the fire department. It took but the turn of a key to release me. But they were prepared!
I gotta say, God bless our First Responders. We should thank them
every day.
In some places the fire dept is the ambulance, where I live for example, and I have seen the big trucks show up with the EMTs. Maybe because it's good practice for emergencies or to be extra careful. The big trucks have rescue equipment if someone is trapped or if the patient is too heavy for 2 people to move safely. The big trucks always come to car crashes when EMTs are called, in case there is a fire. Some places have EMTs that don't work for the Fire Dept and probably don't get big truck support unless they request it.
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