All about Anchorage EMS

Anchorage EMS was formed in 1979 after citizens found that the eastern portion of Jefferson County was under served. At the time, it could take up to thirty minutes for an emergency response vehicle to arrive. With our ambulances in service, the citizens of Anchorage can expect a response time of less than four minutes anytime day or night, 365 days a year. No other area of the county can begin to match this claim.

Currently the department runs provides two ALS ambulances, each staffed by a full-time firefighter/paramedic and a firefighter/EMT. To get us to the run we drive business-class GMC ambulances, modified by Frazier. The rear compartment is powered solely by a generator which allows us to run all of our equipment on 110 volt service (something not available on the other trucks around the county). This allows us to keep IV fluids and medications at a constant temperature. It also helps us keep the patient cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Due to our certificate of need, and a mutual aid agreement with Jefferson County EMS, we provide coverage for both Anchorage citizens and anyone within a thirty minute response time from our station. On the average, the ambulances make around 3,000 runs a year, which makes for a pretty busy day. The station also responds an ALS engine to the scene of all fire runs and EMS runs within the city of Anchorage.

EMS Spotlight:

An Important Word About Children and Guns

Even if you do not own a gun, there's a good chance that your children will encounter one someday. Your children's friends might live in homes with guns, or your children might find one that a criminal has discarded. There are about 200 million firearms in the U.S., so some sort of encounter is almost inevitable. To prepare for this, we suggest you teach your children these steps to follow when encountering a gun:

• Stop!
• Don't touch.
• Leave the area.
• Tell an adult.

Scope of the Problem

• In 1992, firearms surpassed motor vehicles as the number one cause of brain injury fatalities in the United States.
• It is estimated that every two hours in the U.S., someone’s child is killed with a loaded gun.
• Firearm violence is a uniquely American problem, with a rate 90 times greater than any other similar country.
• It is estimated that half of all American households have firearms.
• Every day, 14 American children under the age of 20 are killed and many more are wounded by guns.
• It costs more than $14,000 to treat each child wounded by gunfire—enough to pay for a full year at a private college.

Firearm Usage

• Although firearms are often kept in the home for protection, they are rarely used for this purpose.
• Of 198 cases of home invasion crimes, only three victims (1.5 percent) used a gun for self -defense.
• The risk of suicide is five times greater if there is a gun in the home, and the risk of domestic homicide is three times greater.
• Most children kill themselves or other children unintentionally while they are playing with a gun they found in their home or the home of a family member or friend.
• News reports state that nearly 90 percent of accidental shootings involving children are linked to easy-to-find, loaded handguns in the home.
• Over half of all handgun owners keep their guns loaded at least some of the time, and over half do not keep their guns locked up.

Prevention of Firearm Violence: If you have a gun:

• Always keep your gun unloaded and locked up.
• Lock and store bullets in a separate location.
• Make sure children do not have access to the keys.
• Ask police for the advice on safe storage and gun locks.
• Talk to your children about the risk of gun injury outside the home and places where they may visit and play.
• An estimated 30 percent of all unintentional shootings could be prevented by the presence of safety features such as trigger locks and loading indicators, but American made guns are not subject to federal safety standards like other consumer products such as automobiles, aspirin bottles and children’s toys.