Dan Bowman

As usual the few bring down the many... and the the public just doesn't have the base knowledge to understand the situation. Being a private EMS guy with no Fire experience at all, I can not help you with your request, but I support you and Dr. Tober's efforts in keeping up and raising the standards for Fire/EMS in Florida. If more would take these progressive stances, we may some day hold some respect in the hearts and minds of the public that knows us not.

Thank you for your post, and good luck! I hope that the members of the City with experience in these fields will be able to help you. But don't ask the Admin... he doesn't like fire either... (it's scary!)

THank you for the support!

For the record, I am an EMT working in a dual level response matrix, now operated by the FDNY. On specific call types, a "Certified First Responder-Defibrillator" engine goes, too.

FDNY might have both outside agency trained and practicing EMTs and Paramedics working for them as Fire Fighters, but will only utilize them as CFR-D/Fire Fighters. I also know several EMTs and Paramedics, from outside agencies (volunteer fire departments, mostly from Nassau and Suffolk county, NY) cross trained as Fire Fighters, but the FDNY EMS Command uses them exclusively on the ambulances.

EMS folks are mission specific, Fire Fighters fight fires, "Jaws" open cars, and do the "FR-D" as their mission.

Fire Fighters get a bit more money if they do an "EMS Run". There is nothing comparable for the EMSers.

Just after the merger, when the Fire Fighters discovered they wouldn't be assigned EMS Runs if they had anyone on the crew let their CFR-D cards lapse, so they became compliant.

While what is now the FDNY EMS Command started out as a hospital based service (New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation), we are now fire service based. We wanted to split from HHC, and become a 3rd Service, but it didn't happen that way.

So, I state FDNY EMS Command personnel, and FDNY Fire Fighters, do their respective jobs, and do them well!

I believe our medical control, and our medical director, support Dr Tober, even if I cannot document this.

Thanks for the information. It is very useful.

Hello, My name is Dan Bowman and I'm the Deputy Chief at Collier County EMS. I work hand-in-hand with Dr. Tober in an effort to assure the highest level of pre-hospital care within our community. I'd like to thank all of you for your support and candor, and therefore ask for the membership's help.

Collier County EMS, along with Dr. Tober would first like to recognize that the problem that exists in our County is not a "firefighter" issue. As a matter of fact, I'm a full supporter of ALS within the fire service. All I and the OMD ask is there be adequate training and clinical exposure corresponding to the level of care expected of everyone operating on any emergency scene. In other words, keep-up with your training, work on an ambulance "occasionally" in order to get more in-depth exposure to patients and be accountable for yourself, your department and the community. While our standards may seem simple and obvious to most, some people are struggling. You're witnessing this play-out in our local media. What you don't see are the department's whose firefighter/paramedics are up to the task and working very hard and competently.

While we continue to move forward in our efforts, I would like to hear from any of you whose departments have been through similar circumstances. More specifically, I understood one of the posts indicated that within their department, they ride around 50% between transport and non-transport apparatus. I'd like more details similar to operations/standards such as this. Any other suggestions will be very appreciated.

We are very proud of our paramedics and EMTS within all of Collier County. We've won numerous State and National awards, have a phenomenal save-rate and recently Dr. Tober was awarded the Florida State Medical Director of the Year. We're confident with our mission and anticipate that eventually, those administrations who seem to be lagging behind will eventually catch up with the standard we've set.

Feel free to contact me via PM. You're support is appreciated.

Thanks.

Dan