Plantation Fire Department

The Rescue Division is a full-time, advanced life support (ALS) emergency rescue service providing care and transportation of the sick and injured within the City of Plantation.

The Division operates four rescue trucks, staffed 24 hours a day with two paramedics and an Emergency Medical Technician. Our EMS personnel respond to more than 8,500 requests for assistance annually.

The rescue units constantly monitor areas where call volumes are expected to be high.  This process, known as System Status Management, has resulted in an average response time, from receipt of the 9-1-1 call, to arrival, of approximately three minutes, 90% of the time. 

All medical care and procedures are provided under the direction of Dr. Wayne Lee and the Florida Regional Common EMS Protocols.

Rescue Division Employs Latest Technology:

As well as keeping their knowledge and skills up to date with more than 175 hours of in service training and an annual skills evaluation, paramedics and EMTs use the latest in pre-hospital techniques and technology.

Among the areas of specialized training for Plantation’s Rescue personnel are:

Advanced 12 Lead ECG monitoring and STEMI Transmission
Heart related diseases remain the number one killer of Americans.  Early recognition and rapid treatment are the keys to surviving a heart attack.  Plantation paramedics use advanced ECG assessment tools to determine, quickly whether or not someone is having a heart attack.

Once the determination is made, treatment is begun and the 12 lead ECG (Just like in a doctor’s office) is transmitted, wirelessly to Westside Regional Medical Center, where a team of cardiac specialists is standing by to receive the patient.

By transmitting a 12 lead ahead of the patient, time in the Emergency room is significantly reduced thereby shortening the time a patient is delivered to definitive, interventional care.

Capnography
Paramedics are trained to recognize when someone is having trouble breathing by their rate of breathing and how hard they are working to breath.

Plantation paramedics also monitor the patient’s breathing pattern.  By watching how a patient breathes paramedics can get a better picture of what is wrong and how to treat it, as well as knowing whether the treatment is working or not.

Carbon Monoxide monitoring:
Carbon Monoxide is known as the “Silent Killer.”  It’s a colorless, odorless gas.  And when exposed to it, a person slowly drifts off to sleep and then dies.

Exposure to CO can also have ill effects hours after the exposure.  For this reason, Plantation’s paramedics monitor CO levels in a patient’s blood stream in an attempt to recognize CO poisoning early and treat it before it has damaging effects.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP):
Nothing is more frightening that not being able to breath.  For patients with Congestive Heart Failure, fluids back up in the body, preventing the exchange of oxygen into the blood stream. It’s as if the patient was drowning.

CPAP forces oxygen into a patient’s lungs, forcing the exchange of gases in and out of the blood stream.  In most cases the patient feels instant relief.  Application of CPAP also, in most cases saves the patient from being admitted into an ICU for long term care.

Hypothermia:
Most patients who die after surviving cardiac arrest do so because of this physiological reaction. Cutting edge research has revealed that by stopping this process, survivability increases dramatically.

The mechanism to stop the process involves dropping body temperature or chilling the patient.

Plantation is part of a Countywide initiative to apply cooling, prior to transporting a patient to the hospital.

The following success story describes one of the first uses of hypothermia in Broward County.

The Harvey Tarshis Story:

most families Thanksgiving is time spent with family, friends, good food, and giving thanks for the things that matter.  However, in November of 2009, The Tarshis family had something extra special to give thanks for—Harvey!

Why?  Because on November 11th they almost lost him for good.

It was early in the morning, while playing golf at the Jacaranda Country Club in Plantation, that 79 year old, Harvey Tarshis collapsed.

Friends immediately called for help and within moments employees from the Country Club’s pro shop rushed to the scene and started CPR.  9-1-1 was also called and the Plantation Fire Department responded immediately.  On arrival, paramedics loaded their gear into a waiting golf cart and were taken to Mr. Tarshis on the golf course.

Paramedics discovered the elderly golfer in cardiac arrest and began resuscitation procedures which included continuing CPR, administering lifesaving drugs, and defibrillating the heart.

Moments later, Tarshis responded with a strong pulse and blood pressure.  Plantation’s paramedics called ahead to Westside Regional Medical and quickly initiated transport. 

On arrival, at Westside Mr. Tarshis was passively cooled using the Arctic Sun Temperature Management System, which effectively lowered his body temperature and allowed his heart to begin the recovery process immediately.

During the re-warming phase, Tarshis regained consciousness and found himself in Westside’s Intensive Care Unit. 

A few days later, with significant improvement in neurological function, an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator was surgically implanted in Mr Tarshis at Westside’s new Electrophysiology Suite prior to his discharge.

Mr. Tarshis and his family were able to celebrate a very special Thanksgiving because a system designed to save lives worked perfectly and seamlessly. 

From early CPR and early 9-1-1, to early defibrillation, rapid transport and body cooling, everything came together flawlessly so Mr. Tarshis and his family could celebrate a very thankful Thanksgiving.