Station 7
Jewel Lake - Medic 7
The ambulance at Fire Station 7 was placed in service on Monday September 12. Jewel Lake, Sand Lake, and Southwest Anchorage now have a much needed ambulance in their area.
THE LIGHT FOR STATION 7 WILL REMAIN YELLOW UNTIL THE AMBULANCE VOTERS APPROVED IN THE APRIL ELECTIONS IS IN SERVICE
Fire Station 7 is located at 88th and Jewel Lake, this station houses Engine 7 and due to voter approval will hopefully house Medic 7 in the near future. Station 7 personnel repair and maintain all of the Anchorage Fire Departments turnout gear (firefighting gear) saving the department money that would otherwise be spent on sending repairs to a vendor.
A full bio will be available soon.
Latest News for Station 7
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Historically, Anchorage voters have been great supporters of public safety, passing nearly every public safety bond to come before them in the last ten years. The men and women of the Anchorage Fire Department do not take that trust lightly, and have worked hard to be part of an emergency response system that delivers some of the best pre-hospital care in the country. Our cardiac save rate continues to be one of the best in the nation, as studies have shown that you have a nearly 40% chance of survival, ranking right behind Seattle and a much higher percentage than the single digits of the majority of US urban areas. This success has led to the Anchorage Fire Department’s inclusion in several studies testing new drugs, equipment, and interventions.
Now we are asking the people of Anchorage to support us once again, with the passage of Proposition 2, the addition of an additional Medical Intensive Care Unit, commonly known as an ambulance, to be based at Fire Station 7, SandLake.
The opening of a new ambulance in Sand Lake is several years overdue, as evident by an annual 4% increase in call volume over the last four years. This workload is managed by the 7 existing AFD ambulances stationed in the Anchorage Bowl. Currently, the nearest ambulances to Sand Lake are stationed in Spenard, Dimond, and Huffman, but with those ambulances seeing increasing call volumes as well, residents of Sand Lake are waiting longer for transport to area hospitals. Sometimes, ambulances have to come all the way from Midtown or even Downtown to attend to patients. Adding another ambulance to the Anchorage Fire Department system will alleviate the pressure on all of the existing ambulances by keeping them in their home areas more often, cutting response and transport times for all Anchorage residents, including Eagle River.
For the official ballot language, please go here
Proposition 2 Language – Per www.muni.org
and remember to vote on April 6th!
Posted in Community Involvement, Operations
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
KTUU Channel 2 \”Firefighters’ Union battles Mayor, Chief over Jewel Lake ambulance 12/30/09\”
Firefighters are fortunate here in Anchorage to receive overwhelming support from the public in regards to their public safety. The voters have proven this by passing almost all Fire Bonds in the last 10 years. In turn we have taken this support and created a proactive department that delivers some of the best pre-hospital care in the country. Our cardiac save rate continues to be one of the best in the US, as studies have ranked Seattle and Anchorage as the nations best in this category. Because of this we have been asked to participate is cutting edge medical studies. Companies have selected Anchorage to be a part of trial programs using our input to solidify the effectiveness of new innovative cardiac interventions. Adding an ambulance in the Southwest Anchorage would help us meet an increased need for service.
It has been apparent that the opening of a new medic rig in the Southwest Anchorage is several years past due, this after being delayed by past administrations. This is proven by a 4% increase in call volume in the last four years. We continue to manage this increase with only 7 ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulances in the Anchorage Bowl. One other issue that we have seen with this increase is a shortage of ambulances on high call volume days, in turn delaying ambulance responses. This area continues to be one of the most dramatically affected. The 3 ambulances that serve the Jewel Lake and Sand Lake areas have responded to roughly 8,400 calls this year alone. Please keep in mind these response numbers also include calls in their own response areas, ultimately taking away ambulance coverage from Southwest Anchorage.
The leadership of the Anchorage Fire Department has, for years, asked for an ambulance bond in order to open Medic 7, this areas own medic rig. It is important to note that the individuals (Chiefs) who run this department have identified a need and have asked to go forward with a bond proposal which the Mayor has denied. If the current Chief no longer sees the merit in providing the citizens with an ambulance housed in the Jewel Lake Fire Station, as the Mayor sates in his Letter to the Editor (December 29), that is news to the entire Anchorage Fire Department.
Mayor Sullivan seems to feel the need to attack or blame union contracts for almost every issue that comes before him. For a person who needs an ambulance, that political sleight of hand doesn’t get them the care they need, when they need it. Mayor Sullivan campaigned on a platform supporting Public Safety and Quality of Life. The most important factor in quality of life, after a significant medical event, is directly effected by how quickly a patient receives medical intervention.
Mayor Sullivan; please resist hindering the democratic process and allow the citizens of Anchorage to exercise their right to vote to fund or not fund Medic 7 (Southwest Anchorage).
Posted in Community Involvement, Operations
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Fire Engines carry small hose used to attack fires, large hose used to pump water from a hydrant to another engine, and ground ladders. Typically engines will carry 3-4 personnel. Engines also respond to medical calls, so they carry Advanced Life Support equipment such as cardiac monitors. In an Emergency Medical System like we have here in Anchorage, engines respond with Mobile Intensive Care Units (ambulances) to assist with patient care, or in the event that an ambulance is unable to respond right away, to initiate patient interventions and stabilize the situation until an ambulance can get to the scene. There are 14 fire engines in the Anchorage Fire Service Area, covering just under 1700 square miles.
Mobile Intensive Care Units are more commonly known as ambulances, and are primarily used to provide emergency medical treatment and patient transports to area hospitals. Ambulances typically carry a crew of two firefighters, one of which is a Paramedic, and the other usually an Emergency Medical Technician. There are 8 ambulances spread throughout the Anchorage bowl and Eagle River. Downtown, Airport Heights, Tudor, Spenard, Muldoon, Huffman, Eagle River, and Dimond. These ambulances transported 13,475 patients in 2008 with one ambulance transporting almost 3000 alone.
Ladder trucks are easily recognizable due to the large aerial ladder attached to the top of the truck. Truck companies usually carry 3 personnel and are primarily used on fires to search for and rescue victims, ventilate structures using large fans and saws, and shutting off utilities. Aerial ladders can be used to rescue victims in upper floors of high rise buildings, and nozzles at the end of the ladder can be used to fight fire where hand held nozzles are ineffective. Trucks also respond to vehicle accidents where extrication tools (jaws-of-life) are necessary, industrial accidents, and water problems, and in the event that no fire engines or ambulances are near, will go to medical calls. Presently there are 5 truck companies operating in the Anchorage Fire Department. They’re located in Eagle River, Downtown, Airport Heights, Spenard, and Dimond.
Water tenders are staffed with a single operator, and carry 2,500 gallons of water to support fire attacks in un-hydranted areas such as Stuckagain Heights, Eagle River, or the Hillside. During extended fire operations in un-hydranted areas, all 5 AFD tenders may be used, as several may be coming back and forth from the incident scene to a water source, while the remainder of the AFD’s water tenders will be actually supplying water to engines and trucks actively fighting the fire.
Battalion Chiefs respond to incidents in suburbans. There are two types of Battalion Chiefs on the Anchorage Fire Department; Fire Battalion Chiefs, and Chief Medical Officers (CMO). These individuals are typically the most senior ranking officials on calls, and will often be in command of major incidents such as structure fires and cardiac arrests. On most days, there are three Fire BC’s and one CMO on duty at a time.
All Line Operations employees of the Anchorage Fire Department are cross-trained in fire suppression and emergency medical response, so medical incidents require the dispatch of one fire engine and one ambulance. Fore more serious calls such as cardiac arrest, the CMO will accompany the initial units to facilitate any needs and notify the receiving hospital of the situation. The majority of structure fires require three fire engines, one truck company, one ambulance, two Fire BCs, and the CMO. Of course, every call is dynamic in nature, and may require more or less resources.
Posted in Operations
Connect With Us