Partnering Up for Your Safety! RVFD Thanks the City of Rockville for its ALS Chase Car

On Monday, Officers and Members of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department presented ALS703 to the Rockville Mayor and Council. The unit which was recently placed in service was purchased with grant funding from the City of Rockville.

The RVFD would like to thank Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and the Council for their support to the RVFD and the citizens we serve. ALS703 is staffed with a Paramedic which responds to reported critical emergency medical calls alongside an ambulance staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians.  ALS703 allows the paramedic to rapidly assess a patient and determine if advanced life support (ALS) is needed.  After the assessment, the paramedic will transport (ride with) the patient in the ambulance to the hospital when advanced care is needed.

There are many benefits of the Paramedic Chase Unit (PCU) which include a rapid return to service if the patient does not require the care of a paramedic during transport. This reduces the time a paramedic is unavailable to provide care to other potential patients.  Prior to the Paramedic Chase Unit or ALS Chase Car, paramedics where assigned to staff transport ambulances. With the paramedic assigned to a transport ambulance, they were the primary care provider even when a patient did not require higher level care.

Currently MCFRS has Paramedic Chase Units at the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad and Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.  These units are each owned by the local fire and rescue departments and staffed with MCFRS career and volunteer professionals. Over the next couple of months, MCFRS will place additional PCU's in service resulting in a more efficient delivery of ALS service throughout the County.