Advanced Life Support EMS

The History

Prior to 1996, Redford Township was considered a Basic Life Support (BLS) non-transporting service. Since then, through evolved stages, now we are at the highest level of pre-hospital patient care available.

The Need

With our population increasing and living longer, there is a need to provide services to accommodate these changes.

The Objective

To provide the citizens of Redford Township with the best pre-hospital emergency care available. This is accomplished by providing immediate response of an Emergency Medical Rescue Unit, properly staffed with trained personnel in both fire fighting and Advanced Life Support Medical Training. The provider will have the highest level of training available and be equipped with the necessary life-saving equipment to achieve this goal.

Advanced Life Support

Your Fire Department has been providing Advanced Life Support (ALS) Treatment and Transport for over a decade. Since the implementation of the ALS program, your firefighters/Medics have been able to swiftly provide intervention procedures that can lead to a higher probability of survival for our residents. Examples of these treatments include IV therapy for fluids and medications. Assessing and treating cardiac events including having the ability to perform an ECG in the field and transmitting it to the hospital prior to our arrival with the patient - which provides the awaiting physician with real-time data. Our training also includes placing an advanced airway for trauma victims or unresponsive patients. We began to utilize Intra-osseous Drills (I/O D) which allow your Firefighter/Medics to quickly administer medications and fluids to patients when conventional Intravenous (I/V) sites are impractical. Some common emergency medical calls we receive are heart attacks, difficulty breathing, unresponsive patients, diabetic emergencies, overdoses, victims of a motor vehicle crash, smoke inhalation, fractured bones, drownings, and seizures to name a few.

The Benefits to the Citizens

Roughly 85% of the U.S. population is protected by a Fire based EMS system including yours. Our department has developed a professional relationship with each of the hospitals we transport our patients to, Beaumont Farmington Hills (Botsford) General Hospital and Trauma Center, Garden City Hospital, and St. Mary's Mercy Hospital of Livonia. With our first-hand knowledge of our township's homes, business and roads we can maintain a response time of fewer than 4 minutes on average."