The Philadelphia Fire Department Engine 78 at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has put into service a new Mass Medical Care Unit that will improve the deployment of resources should a mass medical emergency occur at the airport. Known as Foxtrot 11, the state-of-the art apparatus replaces a 1982 box truck and 20-foot trailer that needed to be towed to the scene of an incident.
“The unit will improve the way responders access the necessary equipment to treat patients efficiently and is used to augment the initial treatment provided by members of Engine 78 and Medic 30, which carry a limited amount of equipment intended for individual incidents like medical emergencies at the airport,” explained Captain David Kearney of Engine 78, the specialized PFD unit at PHL.
The new Foxtrot 11 is a 26-foot rescue type body mounted on an all-wheel drive International truck chassis. Built by Emergency Vehicles Inc. of Lake Park, Florida, the truck has multiple custom roll up compartments to hold a wide range of medical supplies and carries all the equipment and supplies needed to triage and treat up to 100 patients.
“This means that all of the equipment carried in the old box truck and trailer will now be able to be deployed immediately without the need for a tow vehicle and it will be able to be positioned closer to incidents that occur away from paved surfaces,” Kearney said.
The new Foxtrot 11 is also equipped with a generator to power a telescopic light tower that can illuminate incidents at night. There is also a canopy mounted to the body of the vehicle that can be extended to provide shelter from the elements for responders.
“This new apparatus will enable us to decrease response and deployment time, which in turn will result in faster access to lifesaving medical supplies thereby improving patient outcomes,” said Medic 30 Paramedic Thomas Rusby.
Equipment carried on Foxtrot 11:
- Triage tags and markers
- Trauma Bags that contain Tourniquets, IV supplies, chest injury supplies
- Airway Bags that have equipment to treat airway and breathing issues including Oxygen
- Spinal immobilization devices: Spine Boards, Pediatric Spine Boards, Cervical collars and immobilization devices
- Orthopedic injury supplies: Multiple types and sizes of splints for fractures and sprains, Hot and cold packs
- Oxygen Tanks
- Folding stretchers and wheeled carts to transport patients over rough terrain
- Rest and Rehab Supplies
- Tactical Medicine Protective Gear and Equipment
- Various types of stabilization equipment for damaged aircraft: Airbags and cribbing
