WHEREAS the BC Ambulance Service has historically provided replacement oxygen and various medical supplies to first responders following first responder incident calls, but recently this practice has been discontinued in many locations throughout the province; AND WHEREAS for many volunteer fire departments, the discontinuation of the provision of these resources creates a funding pressure that could result in a loss of first responder services to many of the small and rural communities that need this service the most; AND WHEREAS first responder services are provided in support of the BC Ambulance Service and the providers of these services should not be expected to incur the cost of the required resources: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the provincial government to reinstate the provision of replacement oxygen and various medical supplies to first responder groups on a province-wide basis.
Ministry of Health Services The Emergency and Health Services Commission EHSC is reviewing the informal practice of many stations of providing oxygen andor medical supplies on an ad hoc basis to a number of First Responder FR organizations, many of which operate in rural and remote areas of the province. BC Ambulance Service BCAS has funded replacement of specific medical supplies for all FRs. However, some stations have historically provided FRs with additional supplies and oxygen on a replacement basis. The issue is further complicated by BCAS move to oxygen bottles with a built-in regulator which are not compatible with the bottles that most FRs either own or rent with separate detachable regulators. Therefore, exchange is no longer an option in many communities. The EHSC Director of First Responder Services and BCAS Operations are jointly working on developing solutions that are both equitable for all FR agencies and cost-effective for government.