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Thursday, March 13, 2008 | 
While there is sadly no shortage of fire and other emergency incidents in the City of Los Angeles, the response to medical emergencies constitutes 82% of the call volume for Neighborhood Firefighters.
On any given day, there are an average 829 Emergency Medical Service (EMS) incidents in our City, from which Firefighters transport 535 people to area hospitals.
Of course, at the Los Angeles Fire Department, the care begins with the call to 9-1-1, where medically trained Firefighters engage callers with a 'zero-minute' response time and a virtual presence to stabilize patients and guide medical self-help while responders are on the way.
What brings LAFD Paramedics to your Neighborhood?
- Breathing Problems: 98 incidents per day
- Traffic Accidents: 97 incidents per day
- Unknown Problem: 75 incidents per day
- Sick Person: 68 incidents per day
- Falls: 67 incidents per day
- Unconscious/Fainting: 62 incidents per day
- Chest Pain: 60 incidents per day
- Assault: 49 incidents per day
- Convulsions/Seizures: 36 incidents per day
- Traumatic Injuries: 32 incidents per day
- Diabetic Problems: 24 incidents per day
- Abdominal Pain: 24 incidents per day
- Hemorrhage/Lacerations: 22 incidents per day
- Overdose/Poisoning: 20 incidents per day
- Cardiac Arrest/Death: 14 incidents per day
- Stroke: 13 incidents per day
- Stabbing/Gunshot: 12 incidents per day
- Heart Problems: 10 incidents per day
- Psychiatric/Suicide Attempt: 9 incidents per day
- Pregnancy/Childbirth: 8 incidents per day
The categories above are at the time of dispatch. A formal medical evaluation will often lead to a more concise diagnosis (i.e. a suspected overdose may prove to be a diabetic, etc).
No matter the nature of your emergency, when life hangs in the balance in Los Angeles, never delay in calling 9-1-1!
Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
3 comments:
But if you don't have a life-threatening emergency, please go visit your private medical physician or travel to the emergency room with a family member, neighbor, friend, or via the wonderful public transportation system in Los Angeles.
Anonymous 4:11,
Thanks for your comment. In the interest of brevity, this post didn't delve too deeply into some of the more challenging issues of providing prehospital care in Los Angeles - and there are indeed many.
Time and space permitting, we hope to delve into such issues more deeply in the weeks and months to come.
As inferred in our post, but possibly understated was...
"when life hangs in the balance..."
...hopefully making it clear with your reminder, that 9-1-1 services are for life-threatening emergencies.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
Unfortunately Mr. Humphrey, when you say that, "911 services are for life-threatening emergencies", you are saying the opposite of Fire Department policy which is to transport everyone regardless of need; we are a transport/taxi service and not an emergency medical service. This is not a comment on you rather on the Department.
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