Why does a fire truck respond to ambulance calls?
This can occur for several reasons. In some instances, a 911 call can require more than the two paramedics that are on the ambulance. All fire trucks in the Monarch Fire Protection District are equipped with advanced life support tools and are manned with paramedics. Employees are both firefighters and certified EMT-Paramedics, and rotate shifts on the ambulance and fire truck. These extra hands can be very helpful when treating a critical patient. Extra people can help with administering life saving treatment, rescue, or assisting with patient movement and lifting. This creates efficient, safe, and high quality of care for a patient. Our dispatching agency will ask questions to the 911 caller and err on the side of caution to send a fire truck with the ambulance. Some instances of these calls are motor vehicle accidents, possible heart attacks, or an unconscious person. A fire truck may also respond when the ambulance responding to a call may be further away than the closest fire stat
