The Columbia County Fire Rescue recently purchased some new medical equipment.
The fire rescue department purchased five UE video laryngoscopes to help with intubation of patients. Lt. Jamarius Tate, EMS training coordinator, said the UEV laryngoscope is a new technology that allows paramedics to see inside a person’s throat via a video screen.
“You’ve probably heard since COVID times how we had to place tubes inside of someone’s throat or windpipe to breath for them, so we’re able to do that in the street,” Tate said. “In the past we were able to do that because of an older way, so it was just pretty much a blade that had a flashlight, and we were able to look in someone’s mouth, so it was pretty difficult. With the video laryngoscopes we have a screen that can display everything from a distance, so it helps with that. It increases someone like a paramedics’ chance of successfully doing this intubation on the first time.”
With this new equipment, there is a 97% success rate of the intubation working the first time, and CCFD is the first in the area to have this equipment, Tate said. The five UEV laryngoscopes will be split between vehicles, with three going on rescue trucks and two on administrative vehicles.
“We have 20 paramedics. We try to get those 20 paramedics on these three rescue trucks, and they are equally spaced out around the county,” Tate said. “So they help out with providing that advance level care…across the county. That’s how it was chosen with that, and the two administrative vehicles float around Monday through Friday.”
Tate said they’ve already used the UEV laryngoscope twice since receiving them and were successful in the uses. He added the reason the fire rescue needs equipment like this is because they also respond to medical calls.
“They always ask the question why is there a fire truck at my chest pain, trouble breathing, stuff like that,” Tate said. “We have the same level of providers as the paramedics on ambulances. We now have the same drugs, the medications, so we can treat things like seizures, severe allergic reactions and stuff like that. It’s the same as the ambulance. It’s a big thing, a very big thing.”
The five UEV laryngoscopes cost $1,500 each for a total of $7,500, according to a news release from Columbia County. Besides the UEV laryngoscopes, CCFR has purchased cardiac monitors, LUCAS chest compression machines, and added drugs to the rescue truck that are normally on an ambulance.
