DeKalb fire adds two units to improve response times

The DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department has added two more “rapid response vehicles” to its fleet, part of a push to improve responses to emergency fire and medical calls.

The department now has five of the vehicles stationed around the county. They look like elongated pickup trucks, and act somewhat as hybrids between full firetrucks and ambulances. They have fire-extinguishing equipment and are manned by firefighters who are trained to treat injuries on-scene, the county said.

“Rapid response vehicles are smaller and less expensive to operate than larger fire trucks,” DeKalb County said in a statement. “In many cases, rapid response vehicles alleviate an ambulance from having to respond if the patient does not need treatment and/or transport.”

One of the two new units will be located in Dunwoody, where city officials have complained about slow response times by American Medical Response, the ambulance firm that contracts with the county to provide emergency transport.

In response to the criticism, the fire department has highlighted its “First-on-the-Scene Model of Care,” a system where firefighters perform medical treatment if they arrive before an ambulance. Many DeKalb firefighters are licensed Emergency Medical Technicians or paramedics.

The county said the rapid response vehicles are “part of the county’s fully integrated system designed to ensure that trained personnel and equipment are on the scene as quickly as possible.”

Each truck cost $200,000. The county used SPLOST funds to purchase 10 units for a total of $2 million, but has so far rolled out only five of the vehicles.

CONTRIBUTED DeKalb County’s “rapid response vehicles” act somewhat as hybrids between full firetrucks and ambulances.