One of the most pressing issues facing the fire service today is the increasing call volume, particularly medical-related calls that can strain our resources and personnel. One way to reduce the impact of the increased calls is by implementing squad programs.
What is a squad program?
The fire service has traditionally relied heavily on engines and trucks to respond to emergencies, but the rapid rise in medical calls requires us to adapt. Deploying engines and ladder trucks for every call is unsustainable and fiscally irresponsible.
A squad program allows for the deployment of specialized teams equipped and trained to handle various medical emergencies and minor incidents, ensuring that a department’s primary firefighting units remain ready for critical incidents. This is a proactive approach to managing excessive call volumes by extending the lifespan of critical apparatus and enhancing service delivery without compromising traditional staffing models. Innovative solutions like squad programs can eliminate a large financial burden, potentially saving millions in the long run.
Call volume crisis
Over the past decade, fire departments nationwide have seen a steady rise in call volume, with some reporting annual increases of 5% or more. This surge, primarily driven by medical emergencies, has led to the overuse of engines and ladder trucks. The additional wear and tear increases maintenance costs and reduces the operational efficiency and availability of apparatus for fire suppression and other critical incidents.
Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) systems and tiered response models are pivotal in addressing this challenge:
- By utilizing EMD protocols, dispatch centers can accurately assess the severity of incidents and deploy appropriate resources. Smaller, more agile units such as medical squads or essential life support (BLS) ambulances can handle non-critical medical calls rather than deploying full-sized fire engines.
- Tiered response models refine this approach by categorizing calls based on urgency and resource needs, ensuring that highly specialized and expensive apparatus is reserved for the most critical situations. This method enhances operational efficiency and significantly reduces the wear and tear on primary firefighting equipment.
Implementing these strategies is not enough, though. Strategic planning processes require increased staffing models to manage growing call volumes effectively. A squad program could be an option to keep fire resources available and reduce the operational burden on traditional staffing.
By integrating EMD protocols, a tiered response model and the squad program, we can enhance our response efficiency, reduce costs and provide better service to our community.
What is the goal of a squad program?
A squad program aims to achieve four key outcomes.
Enhance operational efficiency: The primary goal of a squad program is to handle the increasing call volume more efficiently. By introducing dedicated squads to respond to medical calls, we can ensure our engines and ladder trucks remain available for fire suppression and other high-acuity incidents.
This targeted approach allows us to allocate resources more effectively, ensuring that our most vital and expensive apparatus are reserved for needed situations. Squads — typically smaller and more agile units — can respond swiftly to medical emergencies, providing timely care while keeping larger vehicles ready for critical fire and rescue operations.
Prevent fire apparatus deterioration: The operational lifespan of fire apparatus is a significant concern for any department. Frequent deployment for non-EMS calls accelerates wear and tear, leading to increased maintenance costs and reduced availability for fire suppression and other critical incidents. The heavy usage of these primary apparatuses for medical calls shortens their service life and strains the department’s budget due to the high costs of repairs and replacements. We can mitigate these issues by strategically deploying squads to handle many EMS calls.
Extending the lifespan of our more expensive apparatus by reducing their usage for non-emergency calls has long-term benefits for overall department readiness and efficiency. When engines and ladder trucks are preserved for high-acuity incidents, their reliability and performance in critical situations improve, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of our fire suppression efforts. Additionally, the reduced wear and tear on these vehicles means fewer out-of-service maintenance periods, ensuring they are consistently available for emergencies.
Augment staffing for high-acuity calls: Another critical objective of the squad program is to provide an additional workforce for high-acuity calls, such as motor vehicle collisions (MVCs), cardiac arrests and structure fires. These calls often require more personnel than are typically available on standard fire engines and ladder trucks. Squads can bridge this gap, ensuring the necessary human resources to address these emergencies comprehensively and efficiently.
For example, during a cardiac arrest, additional trained personnel can significantly improve the chance of survival by allowing for the simultaneous execution of life-saving interventions, such as chest compressions, defibrillation and advanced airway management. Similarly, in the case of MVCs, additional squad members can assist with extrication, patient stabilization and rapid transport. The availability of dedicated squads for these high-acuity calls ensures that all necessary tasks are performed promptly and effectively, leading to better overall scene management.
A squad program’s ability to augment the workforce for structure fires cannot be overstated. Structure fires are inherently complex and dangerous, requiring a coordinated and well-staffed response to ensure firefighter safety and effective fire suppression. Additional squad members can assist with critical tasks such as search and rescue, ventilation and fire attack, enhancing our response’s efficiency and effectiveness.
Reduce fiscal waste: Reducing the deployment of engines and ladder trucks for non-emergency medical calls extends their operational lifespan and lowers maintenance costs, achieving significant long-term savings. Although initial costs for reallocating resources and staffing squads exist, the long-term savings from reduced maintenance costs and extended apparatus lifespan offset these upfront expenses.
Preserving the operational integrity of engines and ladder trucks is crucial for fiscal sustainability. Each apparatus out of service for maintenance or repairs represents a gap in our emergency response capabilities, often necessitating costly rentals or temporary solutions. By mitigating the wear and tear on these expensive vehicles through squads, we ensure that our primary apparatus is available and reliable when needed.
Considerations for implementing a squad program
Integrating squads into our response strategy enhances our operational capabilities and demonstrates our commitment to providing our community with the highest level of service. Let’s address key considerations for fire service leaders who choose to implement a squad program.
Data-driven decision-making: Data is a powerful tool that guides the squad program’s implementation, evaluation and continuous improvement. By leveraging data, we can make informed decisions about where to deploy squads, how to adjust staffing models and how to best allocate resources.
Fire leaders should use data to:
- Identify where to deploy a squad program. Data analysis is fundamental in identifying high-volume areas where squads can have the most significant impact. By examining call volume trends and geographical data, we can pinpoint hotspots with the highest frequency of EMS calls.
- Understand the squad program’s impact. To ensure the success of the squad program, it is essential to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response times, call volumes and apparatus maintenance costs. By regularly measuring these metrics, we can assess the program’s impact and make data-driven adjustments as needed.
- Assess the mental health status of a squad program’s crew. Data-driven decision-making also extends to personnel wellness metrics. Monitoring indicators such as workload distribution, physical strain, and job satisfaction can help us ensure that the squad program positively impacts our team’s well-being.
This data-driven approach ensures that the squad program is implemented efficiently and delivers maximum value to our community, ultimately leading to improved operational efficiency and better service delivery.
Integration into the dispatch matrix: Fire departments should create dedicated response districts within the squad dispatch matrix to ensure efficient deployment to areas where they are most needed, minimizing delays and enhancing the department’s ability to manage high-acuity calls effectively. By designating specific districts for squad units, we can streamline the dispatch process, ensuring that these units are prioritized for the types of calls they are best equipped to handle. This targeted approach maximizes the efficiency of the squad program and ensures optimal resource use.
Each district can be tailored based on call volume data, ensuring that squads are positioned in strategic locations that experience higher frequencies of medical and high-acuity calls. This precise alignment of resources with demand allows for quicker response times, which is critical in emergencies where every second counts. Moreover, having predefined districts can eliminate the guesswork in dispatching, leading to a more systematic and effective deployment of squad units.
Final thoughts
Executive leaders must embrace forward-thinking and data-driven decision-making to address increasing call volumes and resource strain. Implementing a squad program represents a strategic, innovative solution that enhances service delivery, extends the lifespan of critical apparatus, and promotes personnel wellness. By setting clear goals, defining actionable objectives and leveraging data to guide our decisions, we can ensure the success of the squad program and position our department for future growth. The squad program is a bold step toward enhancing our operational capabilities and ensuring the longevity of our resources.
Innovation and change are often met with resistance, but as executive leaders, we must champion forward-thinking solutions that drive progress. In the words of renowned leadership expert John C. Maxwell, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
As leaders, we must choose growth informed by data, driven by innovation and focused on delivering the highest service standards to our community. The squad program is not just a response to current challenges, it is a proactive, strategic initiative that embodies our commitment to excellence and our vision for the future of the fire service.
