Whereas career firefighters of many urban centres in the Lower Mainland have done extensive training in emergency medical response protocols. They are trained to administer an enhanced level of emergency medical care to provide relief of pain and trauma experienced by our residents at their time of great need, while waiting together for ambulance services to arrive to ensure that citizens receive the best possible prehospital care; And whereas in the year 2020, and now into 2021, the challenges faced by urban communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid overdose crisis have increased the need for Lower Mainland governments to maximize their resources to meet the escalating emergency medical needs of citizens. Professional firefighters are trained to respond to the needs of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, including safely entering homes to assist our citizens when required, and are well-equipped with all the necessary Personal Protective Equipment PPE, trained on the proper usage of the PPE, and follow all the guidelines of the BC Centre for Disease Control BCCDC, and the BCEHS. As of the writing of this resolution, the Provincial government has still not changed their position to allow First Responder agencies, such as Fire Rescue, to respond to Orange and Yellow medical emergency calls at the time they are reported to 911: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM stand in solidarity to support Lower Mainland municipalities in their quest to expand the range of emergency medical events to which municipal First Responders are simultaneously called to attend, in order to ensure the highest available level of pre-hospital care for Lower Mainland residents; And be it further resolved that given their own resources and geography, any urban municipality be able to chose how best to deploy their resources to increase emergency medical response ensuring their residents receive optimal with timely pre-hospital care resulting in better outcomes for residents at their time of need, until such time BC Ambulance Services receives exponentially more resources from the Province of BC and are fully equipped to meet the dire emergency pre-hospital health needs of the citizens of BC.
