Providing excellent Emergency Medical Services (EMS) care is a top priority, accounting for nearly 80% of all calls. 

All of SFD’s operational personnel are certified in either Basic Life Support (BLS) or Advanced Life Support (ALS) care.  Using advanced equipment, they ensure that you receive fast, effective treatment at the highest level of care.

  • Firefighters carry a patient out on a back country rescue.
  • Motor vehicle accident
  • SFD crew loading a patient into an ambulance at Slide Rock.
  • Photo of ambulance 511 on scene
SFD crew loading a patient into an ambulance at Slide Rock.

Ambulance Services

We operate our own ambulances, placed strategically throughout the District, and exceed requirements of the Arizona Department of Health Services for equipment levels and certification training for paramedics.

Participating in District-sponsored continuing education, nearly half of SFD’s operational staff have earned a Certified Emergency Paramedic (CEP) designation, requiring rigorous coursework a challenging certification exam, and strict annual recertification requirements.

Staffed 24 hours a day with paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), we offer advanced life-saving treatments that are not typically available from other ambulance services, such as rapid sequence induction (RSI), continuous positive-airway-pressure ventilation, advanced airway intubation equipment, catheter-lab EKG transmission, and cross-vent transport ventilators.

Continually seeking new technologies puts SFD on the cutting edge to enhance and streamline patient care.

Motor vehicle accident

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Some of the more dangerous situations SFD personnel encounter while providing EMS care are motor vehicle accidents (MVA).

With two major highways intersecting within the city limits, and millions of visitors each season, motor vehicle accidents are unfortunately common.  The busy roadway presents a number of hazards to not only the patient, but those providing EMS care.  Traffic, weather, and onlookers all add complications to the intricate work emergency personnel need to perform.

To provide a layer of safety, the engineer will position the fire engine to block the scene from traffic.  Firefighters will place safety cones and direct traffic in the absence of police or highway safety presence while other members of the crew begin assessing the patient(s) start treatment.  Multiple vehicles and patients require more support, so the Captain is constant communication with Dispatch, air support, and their supervisor to coordinate response efforts.

Often, the doors of a vehicle in an accident are inoperable, so SFD firefighters undergo annual extraction training with donated vehicles.  Using state-of-the-art hydraulic equipment, the crew carefully cut away the vehicle frame, roof, or doors to access and safely remove the patient.

Please provide as much room as possible as you drive by an active emergency response to a motor vehicle accident.  Slow down, pay attention to the road, and don’t linger to observe.  Scenes can be graphic and emotional, so let safety personnel do their job, and drive safely. 

Photo of ambulance 511 on scene

Cardiac

It can be a race against time when emergency personnel are called to a cardiac event.

Trained in using specialized drugs and equipment, EMS personnel arrive on scene ready to begin patient care immediately and begin transport to an adequate medical care facility as soon as possible.

SFD emergency vehicles are equipped with Auto Pulse, an automatic CPR device that is used to continue heart compressions in situations where it is unsafe or impossible for a medic.  The device has saved lives by being used in air transport and other difficult transport situations.  Regulated at the perfect tempo and depth, it is advanced technology working with trained personnel to provide exceptional care.

Data shows that administering life-saving CPR as early as possible greatly increases the chances of surviving a severe cardiac event. Learn CPR, know the signs of heart attack and stroke, and call 9-1-1 without delay.

SFD Newsletter