Tactical Paramedics

Responsibilities

The York County Department of Fire and Life Safety Tactical Paramedic Unit (TPU) was founded in 2006 and increases the level of protection the Department provides to the citizens, businesses, employees and visitors in York County. This special operations unit consists of 3 Fire and Life Safety Department paramedics who are assigned to the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team (ERT). The ERT medics respond to all incidents involving the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office ERT.

ERT medics are equipped and trained to provide emergency medical care in a tactical environment where delivery of emergency medical care to injured or sick civilians and law enforcement officers is often delayed because medical personnel are usually not equipped to operate under hostile conditions. ERT medics give the fire-rescue department and sheriff's office the ability to rapidly provide life-saving service to sick or injured persons in areas otherwise not accessible to traditional emergency responders.

These specially trained and equipped ERT medics provide dedicated emergency medical support for the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office ERT during tactical missions and training, they are capable of administering advanced life support care of life threatening medical emergencies in the tactical environment, they serve as liaisons between fire-rescue and law enforcement personnel during tactical operations, while expanding the level of service to the citizens, businesses, employees and visitors of York County by allowing rapid access of specialized emergency medical care to the sick and injured when hostile conditions preclude a timely conventional emergency medical response.

Goals

The Tactical Paramedic Unit is directed at achieving the following important goals:

• Provide a medical response to the sick and injured within the tactical arena, conditions permitting.
• Individualize medical response to ERT members by catering to specific medical conditions of individual officers.
• Enhance tactical mission accomplishment by assisting in extrication and taking over medical emergency management, thereby freeing up ERT officers to return to the primary objective.
• Facilitate a professional partnership between the Department of Fire and Life Safety and the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office.
• Reduce death, injury and illness among ERT officers, innocent civilians and suspects.
• Project a favorable image of both the Department of Fire and Life Safety and the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office.
• Offer a sense of comfort to ERT officers and their families, knowing that qualified emergency medical assistance is with them at all times during training and missions.