On any given year, emergency medical service (EMS) calls make up between 80%- 85% of the calls for service at Grand Junction Fire Department. All GJFD first responders hold either an emergency medical technician (EMT) or paramedic certification to be able to provide life-saving medical interventions on any 911 call that the department responds to.
GJFD is honored to provide the first steps in emergency medical care offered in our community. The Department is always looking to continually improve EMS response, training, tools, and partnerships to continue offering high-quality professional care to patients.
Advances in Cardiac Arrest Care at GJFD
On Wednesday, May 24th at Community Hospital, GJFD first responders will join agencies from across the county to celebrate lives saved from cardiac arrest where patients experienced no deficits leaving the hospital. In 2022, GJFD crews' efforts resulted in 11.1% of GJFD cardiac arrest patients leaving the hospital with good neurologic outcomes compared with 10.5% for the state of Colorado and 7.5% for the nation.
In 2022 GJFD added a LUCAS CPR machine to the toolbox of emergency medical interventions available to cardiac arrest patients. The LUCAS machine is a device that can provide high-quality chest compressions in the field and on the way to the hospital. Having a machine doing chest compressions allows first responders to focus on providing other early medical interventions related to cardiac arrest.
GJFD Hiring to Train EMTs and Firefighters
Until May 31st, GJFD is accepting applications for firefighter recruits and EMT class sponsorship. This means that if anyone is interested in serving our community as a firefighter/EMT, GJFD will hire and pay for them to attend their EMT certification class and firefighter academy before beginning their career at GJFD. By removing the EMT certification requirement, this type of application reduces barriers to entry into a career as a first responder. Historically, GJFD has hired very high-quality employees from this process that may not have otherwise been able to pursue a career in public safety. Anyone interested can apply online at: bit.ly/FirefighterRecruitEMTClassSponsorship.
For questions about EMS week, hiring, or GJFD EMS services contact the Community Outreach office at (970)549-5800 or by email at GJFirePIO@gjcity.org.