Clayton Uses Life Saving Emergency Equipment

February 2, 2011

Staying abreast of new technology is one way Clayton’s Fire Department maintains its high level service to the community. Emergency vehicles are equipment with new technology like the ZOLL E Series defibrillator/monitor. This advanced, life-saving equipment reduces the amount of time between arrival at the hospital and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), a surgical procedure that opens narrowed or blocked arteries and restores blood flow.

On the way to the hospital, Clayton’s paramedics determine a patient’s 12-lead ECG – the12-lead ECG apparatus displays and documents the electrical activity of the heart from twelve different views.  Clayton paramedics collaborate with St. Mary’s Hospital staff to transmit the patient’s condition to a doctor’s handle held device in the catheterization lab. The en-route transmission between the ambulance and the hospital saves precious time, 30 to 45 minutes that previously would have been needed by emergency room doctors to determine treatment and to prepare the cath lab for a cardiac patient.  

“Clayton Fire Department is proud of its excellent history and the exemplarily standards we have achieved,” said Fire Chief Mark Thorp. “We will continue to find new and innovative ways to improve the services we provide our residents and visitors. We are excited about the possibilities this new technology provides. This is one more way we can better serve those who call on us for assistance.”

Besides advanced technology, the Department has a history of providing exemplary service to the community. The Department has reported no fire deaths in over 30 years. More recently in 2010:

• the Department worked with the Clayton School District in facilitating the retrofitting of three Clayton elementary schools with sprinklers
• the Department received the Emergency Medical Service for Children certificate
• Clayton firefighters appeared in every public and private elementary school in Clayton and distributed age-appropriate fire and injury prevention messages to more than 500 students.

Since the Clayton Fire Departments’ inception in 1897, it has maintained a safe environment for residents, businesses and visitors in Clayton by providing ongoing public education, fire prevention and inspection programs, and rapid and professional response for fire, rescue, medical and other emergencies.