Paramedics

I read with interest your article “The Bells Toll Often” (Dec. 10). You accurately portray the difficult and demanding work that the firefighters at Los Angeles Fire Station 11 perform with such skill and dedication. Unfortunately, the article hardly mentions the paramedics assigned to Rescue Ambulance (RA) 11.

In the article, you share a day in the life at Fire Station 11. However, the day leaves out the workload of the paramedics, when in fact the paramedics went on 17 calls for that day, as noted briefly elsewhere in the article. Many of the calls that RA 11 responded to are listed exclusively as Engine 11 calls. Many of Engine 11 calls listed were actually calls to assist the paramedics. On most of those responses the engine was able to clear the scene in a short period of time while the paramedics had to treat and transport the patient.

Approximately 80% of the calls in Fire Station 11’s district are emergency medical responses. During the 1989-90 fiscal year, RA 11 responded to 5,614 alarms. Engine 11 responded to 5,557 and Light Force 11 to 2,586. More significantly, total hours worked for RA 11 were 3,335. The total for Engine and Light Force 11 combined was 2,376.

PHILIP G. ROWE, United Paramedics of Los Angeles