Emergency Medical Services
Our department’s newest ambulance is a 2003 International/MedTec ambulance. This ambulance is the first heavy duty chassis ambulance that our department has owned. The new ambulance features LED lighting and a dump assist valve that lowers the rear of the ambulance pneumatically when we are loading patients into the back of the ambulance.
The Lyons Fire Department provides Advanced Life Support services to the residents and community that we serve. Advanced Life Support (ALS) service is provided through our department’s paramedics who are also crossed trained as firefighters.
A paramedic receives extensive training in field emergency care and is tested and certified by Illinois Department of Public Health. All paramedics, even once certified, are required to attend mandatory continuing education training each year, in order to maintain their skills and learn new procedures that the resource hospital may have initiated.
In addition to our department having paramedics, all personnel that are not paramedic certified are required to be Emergency Medical Technician certified. The personnel that are EMT certified can provide Basic Life Support (BLS) services. The EMT’s provide essential first responder care when our paramedics are committed to a previous call and while we are awaiting the arrival of a mutual aid paramedic (ALS) ambulance. The EMT’s are also required to attend mandatory continuing education each year, in order to maintain their skills.
Our department is part of the Illinois Region 8 Emergency Medical Services and the Loyola EMS System.