AN incident in County Clare this week, when a fire crew resuscitated an unresponsive patient when no HSE ambulance was available, adds considerable weight to a campaign by a Killarney councillor who has called for the fire service to be deployed to all emergencies.
The National Ambulance Service sought assistance from firefighters on Tuesday when a patient was in cardiac arrest just a kilometre from their station in the Clare town of Kilkee. The local ambulance was on another call and there was no emergency cover available in the area.
Firefighters commenced CPR and used a defibrillator to successfully resuscitate the patient before the ambulance arrived.
Killarney councillor Donal Grady recently highlighted regular delays with the ambulance services attending the scene of medical emergencies as they sometimes have to travel long distances.
Cllr Grady said he was recently in a hotel in Killarney when a man collapsed. He dialled 999 at 10.28pm but it was 11.23pm before an ambulance crew arrived at the scene.
The fire service in Killarney can respond to a call-out in five minutes and they have oxygen and a defibrillator on board, he pointed out.
“They know how to save lives until the ambulance comes,” Cllr Grady said.
He asked Kerry County Council to deploy the fire services to all incidents but the local authority said it was a matter of inter-agency policy at a national level and a national directorate would be required.
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