The first of more planned advanced Critical Care Rescue Units are operating on Jacksonville’s streets now, funded from Jacksonville’s 2023 budget.
Along with the usual advanced life-saving equipment when someone is injured in a fire, crash or other incident, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department’s two new rescue units also carry high-level critical care medications like blood clot stabilizers and drugs to lower rapid heart rates.
It also is the first time that blood and plasma for transfusions has been carried by paramedics, all specially trained to handle them as well as a ventilator, IV pump and other life-saving gear at a trauma scene or en route to a hospital.
The new rescue units will be sent out to incidents where that added gear and paramedic training is really needed to save a life, Fire Chief Keith Powers said.