Local News in Brief : L.A. Firefighters Urge Law on Respirator Use
The Los Angeles County Firefighters Union Friday called for a state law requiring that municipalities make mechanical and manual resuscitators available as protection against communicable diseases during rescues.
The move stems from a May 19 episode in which a county firefighter administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a suspected AIDS victim whose car had crashed off Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The county Fire Department ordered the purchase of 1,500 portable “pocket” resuscitators in response.
Larry Simcoe, president of county firefighters’ Local 1014, said his group wants to add the mandatory-equipment provision to the state law that requires rescuers trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to attempt to revive people in respiratory arrest.
“As firefighters we often don’t know the medical status of people we treat,” Simcoe said, citing rescuers’ fears about contracting acquired immune deficiency syndrome, herpes and hepatitis. He added that firefighters may themselves carry disease.
Simcoe said his union has contacted other California firefighters’ groups to enlist their support for a statutory change.
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