After removing Engine 8 (fire and EMT -- Emergency Medical Technicians) from the Whitney Ave station, the City says it will station an ALS (Advanced Life Support) unit there. The ALS unit will have city-wide coverage responsibilities.
And, just to be clear, the ALS unit is not an ambulance -- meaning, it cannot transport patients. To do that, they would still have to call an ambulance.
So if you have a condition and you need to get to the Hospital right away, the ALS unit isn't going to get you there.
What the FD and the City have not explained yet (unfortunately for us) is the difference between a BLS (Basic Life Support) unit -- which is Engine 8 -- and the ALS. What can the ALS do that the BLS cannot? The BLS unit (i.e., Engine 8, with its Emergency medical Technicians) can stay at "home" in the station on Whitney Ave., and can therefore arrive quickly on site in a medical emergency. The ALS unit can travel all over the city responding to any calls that come in. The BLS unit can also fight fires. The ALS unit cannot.
The Emergency Medical Technicians on Engine 8 can revive you if you have a heart attack. Or a near-drowning (see today's New Haven Register -- Firemen Revive Drowning Victim at Light House Point http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/07/12/news/new_haven/doc4e1b1c6d818e6664974081.txt).
Since they can't transport patients, what can the ALS paramedics do that is not covered by Engine8's EMTs? We'd be very interested to know.
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