DUBLIN FIREFIGHTERS HAVE shared a pamphlet online to highlight the importance of their work as they ballot for industrial action.
Trade union Siptu claims the fire service is under-resourced, and in particular urgently needs additional ambulances in the city to meet demand.
The pamphlet gives details of a number of incidents members of the fire brigade, who are also trained paramedics, have attended over the last two years. They include:
The shooting at the Regency Hotel in Dublin last year
The first unit arrived less than a minute after the call. “DFB crews treated open gunshot wounds, administered pain relief and medication to stop major blood loss,” the pamphlet says. “One patient was admitted to ICU and was later released. One patient with life threatening wounds made a full recover. Unfortunately, there was one fatality at the scene.”
A cardiac arrest at a pharmacy in Dundrum
A 60-year-old man collapsed in the chemist, staff started CPR and used a defibrillator. Crews from the fire brigade took over on arrival and continued administering treatment to the man, including medication and resuscitation. On arrival at the hospital, the patient was awake and talking.
A shooting in June last year
A 34-year-old man was shot four times. Paramedics treated him for internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, bleeding from the abdomen and an entry wound to the patient’s head. A bullet could be felt close to his spine. The patient was given fluid and medication to stop major blood loss. Doctors confirmed he had two bullets in his spine. He recovered and is undergoing physical rehabilitation with no neurological deficits.
A stabbing incident in June last year
A young man was stabbed six times, suffering internal organ and external wounds which resulted in major blood loss and low blood pressure. Crews administered fluids and medication to stop the blood loss. He was assessed, immobilised and transported to hospital. He recovered after surgery to a damaged kidney.
Overdose
Over a five-day period in September, the advanced paramedic vehicle responded to six calls to an inner city hostel. All of these calls involved heroin overdoses. The calls varied from respiratory distress to cardiac arrest. In all six cases, crews achieved a successful outcome and all of these patients were conscious when transferred to hospital.
The pamphlet also gives details of a number of childbirths assisted by fire brigade paramedics and an attempted suicide.
Dublin firefighters have asked members of the public to read it in full and show their support to the service by contacting their local representatives.
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