Mutual Aid

LHHFD has a mutual aid agreement with LA County FD which means that if there is a call the is closer to us even though it's in their area we will get the call. It also means LAcoFD calls us when they are out of paramedics.

We were busy last Monday night. Our tones went off for the first time at 10:30pm. We responded on a mutual aid call into the county area for a fall victim. We arrived on scene to find an LAcoFD engine company assessing the patient. The captain asked if we were the "Heights Medics." When we said yes he informed us that the call was BLS (basic life support, or no paramedics needed) and canceled us.

About an hour later the tones went off again. We had a call in our own area this time for a 25 year old male with chest pain. Our patient met us at the top of his driveway (which is a good sign that he is fine). We discovered that he had a non-provoked non-radiating chest pressure that had been going on for an hour. All his vitals were stable. His only history was anxiety and he took medications for the same. Even though I am sure he was just having an anxiety attack we had to do a total work up because of the symptoms he was describing. We finally got to bed a little after 12:30am.

At just before 2am we got our third call of the night. We were responding to the far side of the city for a "medical aid" which means it could be anything. We arrive on scene and find a driveway that is about 400 feet long that leads to a house that is 100 feet above us in elevation. Talk about a climb! We get up to the bedroom and find a 68 year old man that had passed out in the hallway. He is now alert and oriented but wants to get checked out anyways. He has a significant cardiac history as well as blood pressure problems. He tells us that he was hospitalized a week ago for the same thing. We work him up and get him to the hospital. We got back to sleep around 3am. It was a long night but it was nice to actually run a few calls.