Fire medical response program hits the road

Fire Medical Response will see firefighters from 50 CFA brigades trained and equipped to provide life-saving support in response to Triple Zero calls. 

The roadshow gives potential FMR brigades the opportunity to hear about the program and consider if they would like to be part of it.  

The program was first announced in July 2022 and since then much work has been done to build the program. This week CFA’s FMR Program Manager, Fiona Macken, spoke at the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) conference in Brisbane, sharing CFA’s experience of building the program.  

“It’s exciting that we are now ready to start consulting with the Brigades identified as those likely to have the greatest positive impact on cardiac arrest response in regional Victoria” Ms Macken said.  

“Over the past 12 months much work has been undertaken to build the Program, including establishing agreements with Ambulance Victoria, procuring equipment, developing processes, building the training package, considering mental health and wellbeing program needs, developing digital solutions and commencing evaluation.”  

“With regard to training, we now have a reasonable understanding of what this will look like, including how many hours are required and what formats brigades can expect to undertake training in”. 

“It is exciting to be travelling around Victoria meeting potential FMR brigades and discussing what this important program means for them.” 

The goal of FMR is to offer Victorians faster access to CPR and defibrillation, in accordance with the 10-minute Chain of Survival model of best cardiac care. 

CFA has the largest geographical footprint of any emergency service in Victoria, with more than 1,100 volunteer fire stations with more than 50,000 members. This puts CFA in a unique position to complement Ambulance Victoria response and deliver early intervention to cardiac arrests.