Concern from Toronto firefighters over being removed from dozens of urgent medical calls is a “smokescreen” to protect jobs, when “what patients need are more paramedics,” according to Geoff MacBride, president of the Toronto Paramedic Association.

On the recommendation of a panel of medical experts, Toronto firefighters are no longer being dispatched to a number of 911 medical calls they used to attend, including certain types of chest pain complaints. High-ranking past and present members of the Toronto Fire Service told the Star this decision has put residents at risk.

But MacBride maintains that firefighters are in fact concerned about remaining relevant amid a drop in fire-related calls, by trying to expand their foothold in the medical arena, even in instances when they don’t have the skills to provide an effective intervention.

“Once again, the smokescreen is being put up, when the reality is that what patients need are more paramedics and more ambulances to appropriately facilitate appropriate response in a timely fashion,” MacBride said. “Ultimately, what they (firefighters) are trying to do is save their budget, not help patients.”

Ed Kennedy, president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, dismissed these assertions, calling MacBride “a broken record.”

Kennedy said that even if fire was taken off all medical calls, the city would still need at least the same number of firefighters, whose trucks carry the Jaws of Life, and are also dispatched to industrial accidents or hazardous materials calls.

“We don’t need to justify our jobs. Paramedics have to justify their jobs. They’ve got one role to play, and that’s it,” Kennedy said.

Changes to the city’s 911 protocol were put into place in June 2012. Using EMS data, a panel of medical experts recommended firefighters only attend the types of medical calls where they performed, or could have performed, an effective intervention in at least one per cent of cases.

Following the review, firefighters were taken off of more than 50 types of medical calls, and added to 22. They have since been reinstated on a half-dozen calls that they were removed from.

The decision does not sit well with Toronto resident Neil Rubin. Rubin, who has a heart condition, was shocked that firefighters weren’t dispatched along with EMS when he called 911 in January complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.

Rubin, 52, said he waited too long for paramedics to arrive, during which time firefighters, who carry oxygen, could have intervened.

“When I call, I’m in distress and I need help, and getting oxygen to me is a great relief,” he said. “There’s also a psychological component as well. You know that if something goes wrong, they (firefighters) are here to help you.”

But MacBride said this case demonstrates why paramedics — not firefighters — should be the first responders.

Recent evidence suggests that too much oxygen can be detrimental during a cardiac event; however, firefighters are only trained to deliver the high-level amounts of oxygen, he said.

“There’s a reason why paramedics go to medical schools to be medical professionals and firefighters are trained in first-aid and CPR. They don’t have the assessment capacity,” he said.

Toronto EMS aims to respond to emergency calls within nine minutes, 90 per cent of the time, but at the moment, paramedics achieve that target in less than 65 per cent of cases.

A third-party review of Toronto Fire Service and Toronto EMS recently recommended adding 223,451 staffed ambulance hours, and closing a fire station in the city’s west end. The review also advised against merging the city’s fire and paramedic services.

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Kennedy disagrees with the findings.

“We should look at doing away with paramedics, and having fire-based EMS,” he said.