I live in Stafford, VA and work for the Fairfax County FRD, which is in the western vicinity of DC.
So, here's how my dept works: All personnel are dual role FF/EMT's or FF/medics. FF and FFM alike are subject to the recruit process, including an extrance exam, CPAT, psych exam, full medical including a stress test, and one or two polys given by a detective. When hired, the FFM spends 6-7 weeks in the academy doing EMS alphabet card recerts, PT and clerical stuff. Then you spend 16 weeks in the field doing an ALS field internship on an ambulance. This is 3 12's, 0700-1900 weekdays, with 4 hours class time at our EMS training center "EMSCEP" to include lectures given by PA's, RN's, RT's, and our medical director. We must also pass a gen knowledge and protocol test, and three scenarios in real time with "Sim Man" in both a living room mock up and a scale ambulance mock up. Two failures and you're let go. For real.
We then return to the academy to join the FF's for FF 1 and 2 training. When we return to the field, we are clear to ride both the medic and an engine as the medic.
All 37 of our stations have engines, and all engines are ALS. We also have a mix of double medic units, dubbed PTU's, or Primary Training Units, and a number of "one and one's. There are currently four BLS buses in service, but the county plans to upgrade to ALS when economically feasible. A medic Lt must be staffed on a PTU at all times, on the 1&1 a FFM or E-tech of 18 months post academy tenure can ride.
Engines are typically dispatched with the medic for all ALS calls. Some houses that have trucks, towers or heavy rescues will send them instead, to keep the engine in service, thus keeping ALS coverage available in the first due. For MVA's, we send a medic unit, an engine, and sometimes a rescue in each direction. Fairfax has the "mixing bowl", where I-95, I-495 and I-395 meet. There are inner and outer loops. We frequently get wrong locations, so it's prudent to send units in both directions. The engine is dispatched to offer protection by blocking the incident scene, pulling a bumper line if needed for a car fire, and of course EMS aid. The rescue is for shoring and cut jobs.
The FRD has a monthly required training matrix that includes EMS, company ops, multi unit drills, powerpoint topics, FRD manual reviews, and LODD reviews. Medics are sent on duty to EMSCEP quaterly to attend 8 hour con-ed sessions. We also do JEMS articles and have periodic off duty CME's. I'm taking in an 8 hour class for management of burn pts given by Washington Hospital at the FRD later this month, off duty. Our OMD advocates using the protocols as guidelines, and treating pts by use of best practices.
We work 24's - WOWOWOOOO. We cannot be held past 36 hours total.
Medics start at two steps above a basic FF (a little over 5 grand annualy), receive around 4800/yr in cert pay, $2/hr to ride as the engine medic, and $3/hr to ride the medic unit. My current base is $56,580 + 1100 in night diff + 4800 in cert pay + around 6-7 grand in per hour riding pay (depends if you do more time on an engine or a medic unit). We also get 11.2 hours straight time extra if we work the day before or after a holiday. We get 16 hours additional pay if we actually work the holiday. So, I'm pulling in around 70k/yr before OT. I'm 1 1/2 years in at the moment. Homes go for high 100's to mid 200k here.
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