Partnership between Norfolk ambulance and fire services which sees firefighters attend medical emergencies expands

A partnership between Norfolk's ambulance and fire services which sees trained firefighters respond to medical emergencies is being expanded.

Three additional fire stations in Norfolk are now equipped to assist the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) in responding to life-threatening medical emergencies. There are now seven co-responding fire stations across rural Norfolk.

The latest to go live are in Hunstanton, Heacham, and Sandringham.

Having on-call firefighters at these stations trained to respond to medical emergencies means that help can get to patients in need faster.

This year alone, Norfolk firefighters have been dispatched to 42 separate Category One incidents, which are the most serious emergencies such as cardiac arrests.

In 45% of those incidents, the fire service were first on scene. Firefighters arrived on average two minutes and 50 seconds before an ambulance.

EEAST have also recently donated ten automated external defibrillators to Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service, which have been installed at rural fire stations across Norfolk. These can be accessed by members of the public in the event of a cardiac arrest, where every second counts and a defibrillator could save a life.

Tom Barker, EEAST's head of collaborative response, said: "It is great to see our co-response partnership with Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service expanding, with three additional fire stations coming on-board.

“This brings the total number of co-responder fire stations in Norfolk to seven.

"Our collaboration with the fire service is all about getting medical help to people who need it as quickly as possible.

“We know there are lots of fire stations in rural towns and villages across Norfolk, so having properly trained on-call firefighters ready to help in a medical emergency is hugely beneficial to patients and communities."

Paul Seaman, head of operations for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Our work is all about saving lives. By these additional stations now being able to support this co-responding work, we know that it is making a real difference to outcomes for cardiac arrest patients in Norfolk.

“We continue to look for further opportunities to provide support to EEAST."