TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

An Event On Life Support

Tribune photo by CANDACE C. MUNDY

Temple Terrace Professional Firefighters Local 3582 hosted their first Advanced Life Support competition on Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - "A bank robbery in progress at Surefire Bank, 3582 Hilton Lane," crackles the dispatcher's voice on the loud speaker.

A rowdy crowd at the scene watches from behind yellow police tape. People's voices rise with the frantic barks of a police dog standing at the ready on the other side of the yellow tape.

The bank door bursts open. The police dog lunges forward. A would-be hostage leading the way clutches his chest and falls. The bank robber tumbles behind him and yells, "I've been bitten." Two shots ring out. A police officer has shot a second bank robbery suspect. The crowd screams. There is chaos.

In the real world, it is the kind of scene law enforcement officers are trained to avoid. As a mock exercise in a life support competition for expert rescue workers, it's the kind of scenario in which firefighters and paramedics want to excel.

Such was the case last week when Temple Terrace staged its first advanced life support team invitational competition, drawing firefighting and medical personnel from six emergency response agencies from throughout Florida.

The event, co-hosted by Temple Terrace Professional Firefighters, Local 3582, and the Temple Terrace Fire Department, was held Oct. 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Tampa Oaks Boulevard.

"It's great for emergency response teams and great for training to see how other cities are doing it," said Lt. Tom Pillsy of Lee County Emergency Medical Services. "It makes the team better medics."

The advanced life support contests provide team members an opportunity to learn new lifesaving techniques and medical tips to share with co-workers back home, he said.

The Lee County EMS team placed third in the competition, considered an accomplishment for a department that formed its first competitive ALS team just two years ago.

The Boca Raton Fire Rescue team took first place, followed by Port Orange Fire Rescue, Temple Terrace Fire Chief Keith Chapman said. The other competing teams were from Delray Beach, St. Lucie County and Flagler County.

"We are actually good friends with the guys from Temple Terrace," said James Haag, a Boca Raton firefighter and paramedic. "They called to ask if we wanted to participate, and we were more than happy to come over."

ALS teams from Temple Terrace and Baton Raton have squared off in competitions in recent years.

In last week's contest, three-member teams competed in disciplines related to their jobs. The competition included timed contests with scenarios involving multiple patients.

In the preliminary round, all six teams were asked to demonstrate lifesaving skills involving a bloody fight and a drug overdose at a busy nightclub.

The bank robbery scenario was used in the final round. The Delray Beach Fire Rescue team, which placed fourth, did a run-through for the judges before the three finalists took their turn at the 15-minute exercise.

To ensure no team had an advantage, the scenarios were kept secret. Each team was kept away until it was time to enter the room for judging. The meeting room at the hotel used for the competition was decorated to resemble a dimly lit nightclub during the morning preliminaries and a bank building entrance for the afternoon finals.

The fire department recruited volunteers - including students from Pasco-Hernando Community College in Dade City - studying to become paramedics to serve as extras during the contests. They were instructed to yell, scream and use flash cameras in an attempt to distract or rattle the teams.

A panel of judges graded each team on how well it responded and performed in the mock disasters.

Chapman said the local firefighters' union sponsored the event to help the city fire department raise money to pay for the local ALS team's 2009 travel plans.

Although not permitted to compete as the host, the Temple Terrace Fire Rescue Advanced Life Support Team has collected a score of trophies and honors in national and international contests.

"We have been competing now for six years," Chapman said. "This is our first opportunity to host one of these contests."

The city fire department already is making plans for next year's contest and talking about hosting the event annually.

"We're very pleased at how everything went," Chapman said. "During the awards ceremony, some of the teams told us this was one of the best events they've been to.

"That's high praise, especially since it was our first ALS competition. We're definitely going to look at trying to do this again next year."

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT