The City of Calimesa Fire Department went “live” with its new Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedics on Friday, Jan. 26. The department transitioned from Basic Life Support – EMT’s to having ALS Paramedics assigned to their apparatus.
Calimesa’s firefighters are now able to provide more robust life-saving measures directly. The previous paramedics could only provide basic life-saving measures until an ambulance arrived. The new change also includes medications and it dramatically improves response times.
The process began about two years ago on Dec. 20, 2021, when the Calimesa City Council directed staff to begin the process. “This is a remarkable accomplishment for the Community,” said Calimesa Fire Chief Tim O’Connell. “Purchasing the equipment was the easy part.”